tihrary  of  Che  l:heolo0ical  ^tminaxy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 


-^resented  by  the  estate  of 
the  Rev.  John  B.  Wjedinger 

BX  9178  .K4  H5 

Kerr,  Hugh  Thomson,  1871- 

1950. 
The  highway  of  life 


THE  HIGHWAY  O 


AND  OTHER  SE 


BY 

HUGH  T.  KERR,   D.D. 

Author  of  "  Children's  Story- Sermons,"  "  Children's 
Missionary- Story- Sermons,"  etc. 


New  York        Chicago         Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell  Company 

London       and       Edinburgh 


Copyright,  1917,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago :  17  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto :  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh :     100    Princes    Street 


Foreword 

PART  of  the  service  rendered  by  the  Com- 
mittee on  Men's  Work  of  the  Shadyside 
Presbyterian  Church  has  been  the  pubHca- 
tion  in  pamphlet  form  of  occasional  sermons 
preached  by  the  pastor  of  the  church,  Hugh 
Thomson  Kerr,  D.D.  These  sermons  have  been 
so  heartily  welcomed,  both  by  the  congregation 
and  by  the  community,  that  the  Committee  on 
Men's  ¥/ork  is  glad  to  have  some  of  them  pub- 
lished in  permanent  form.  They  have  been 
preached  during  what  history  is  likely  to  pro- 
nounce the  most  important  years  in  the  life  of 
our  nation,  and  local  references  and  historical 
suggestions  are  allowed  to  stand  as  when  first 
printed.  Events  move  rapidly,  and  already  new 
and  important  changes  have  taken  place,  but  the 
religious  message  here  contained  abides  forever. 

William  M.  Furey, 
Chairman  of  Committee  on  Men's  Work, 
Shadyside,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 


Contents 

I.    The  Highway  of  Life.    Isaiah  35 :  8        9 
II.    Who  Is  a  Christian?    Acts  11:26      19 

III.  To  Whom   Shall  We  Go?     John 

6:68 33 

IV.  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do.    Luke 

6 : 46  .......       45 

V.     Life  at  Its  Best.     Isaiah  6:2        .       57 
.VI.     In  Touch  With  Reality.    I  Samuel 

5-2-4 72 

VII.     The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World. 

John  3:16 85 

VIII.    The   School   of   Silence.     Psalm 

46 :  10 98 

IX.     The  Perils  of  the  Noonday.  Psalm 

91:6 109 

X.     Winning  Our  Inheritance.  Joshua 

17:14-15 124 

XI.    The  Chief  End  of  Man.    Jeremiah 

9:23-24 137 

XII.     The  King  of  Peace.    Hebrews  7:2     149 

XIII.  The  Christmas  Benediction.    Acts 

20:35 161 

XIV.  The  Great  War  and  the  Kingdom 

of  God.     Revelation  21:26  .        .     172 


The  Highway  of  Life 

"  And  a  highway  shall  be  there,  and  a  way,  and  it  shall  be 
called  the  way  of  holiness." — Isaiah  35 : 8. 

THIS  text  forms  part  of  a  great  Hebrew 
symphony.  It  is  a  poet's  description  of 
an  ideal  life.  The  symbolism  speaks  of 
the  poetry  of  the  road.  It  is  not  of  the  battle 
of  life  that  the  poet  sings,  nor  life  builded  upon  a 
sure  and  firm  foundation,  but  life  as  a  journey, 
along  which  the  wayfaring  men  of  this  life  travel 
to  the  City  of  God. 

Life  is  a  highway.  There  are  many  ways,  and 
many  paths  that  men  travel,  but  there  is  only  one 
highway.  There  is  only  one  way  to  live  the  life 
and  come  at  last  to  the  goal.  The  right  to  the 
way — well,  what  is  it?  So  far  as  we  know  life, 
the  right  to  the  road  belongs  to  the  rich  in  this 
world's  goods,  to  the  influential,  to  the  powerful, 
to  the  privileged.  They  come  to  their  goal  un- 
hindered. The  race  is  to  the  swift  and  the  battle 
to  the  strong. 

The  inspired  poet  who  is  looking  out  upon  the 
highway  of  life  does  not  so  see  things.  He  knows 
that  the  verdict  of  history  is  that  the  race  is  not 
^to  the  swift  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong.  The 
right  to  the  road  that  leads  to  life's  long  last  limit 
is  to  the  fit,  and  the  fit  are  all  those  who  follow 


lo  The  Highway  of  Life 

the  way  of  righteousness.  The  right  of  way  be- 
longs to  those  who  are  in  the  way  of  right.  It  is 
a  way  of  hoHness.  No  unclean  thing  passes  over 
it.  It  belongs  to  the  redeemed,  to  those  who 
have  clean  hearts  and  right  spirits. 

There  is  little  I  suppose  to  surprise  us  in  all 
this.  It  is  after  all  one  of  the  tritest  of  truisms. 
No  one  of  us  will  dissent  from  the  words  of 
Browning : 

"  It's  wiser  being  good  than  bad, 
It's  safer  being  meek  than  fierce, 
It's  fitter  being  sane  than  mad." 

And  yet  the  very  triteness  of  the  truth  may 
cause  it  to  lose  its  grip  upon  us.  Spencer  claimed 
that  the  people  of  Europe  in  his  day  took  their 
ideal  from  Jesus  but  worshipped  at  the  shrine  of 
Achilles,  and  doubtless  there  are  still  pagans  in 
our  American  life  who  masquerade  under  the 
name  of  Christians,  and  while  they  take  their 
ideal  from  Jesus,  they  worship  at  some  secret 
shrine  that  once  had  a  place  in  the  ancient  tem- 
ples of  the  gods. 

There  are  those  in  our  American  life  who  wor- 
ship at  the  shrine  of  Cleverness.  It  is  a  pecu- 
liarly American  shrine.  There  are  multitudes  of 
young  men  and  young  women  who  permit  the 
idolatry  of  talent  to  possess  their  hearts,  forget- 
ful altogether  of  Charles  Kingsley's  fine  words, 
"  Be  good  and  let  who  will  be  clever."  There 
are  those  too  who  worship  at  the  shrine  of  Cul- 
ture. There  are  thousands  in  our  schools  and 
colleges  who  never  get  further  than  the  idea  that 
culture  is  a  sort  of  garment  that  one  may  wear, 


The  Highway  of  Life  ii 

a  sort  oi  external  appearance  one  may  present, 
the  acquirement  of  intellectual  facts  rather  than 
the  awakening  of  a  spirit.  True  culture  is  the 
hidden  thing  of  the  heart.  It  is  the  moving  spirit 
of  life  and  breathes  through  all  deeds  and 
through  all  things,  a  spirit  of  reverence  and  re- 
ligion. Out  in  the  v^ide  world  of  men,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  are  multitudes  who  worship  at 
the  shrine  of  Comfort.  A  great  scholar  has  said 
that  the  words  of  Jesus,  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  Mammon,"  should  be  translated  for  our 
twentieth  century  Hfe,  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God 
and  Comfort."  To  follow  after  the  ideal  of  a 
comfortable  life  is  not  worthy  of  a  Christian.  It 
is  frequently  discussed  in  the  multiplying  books 
on  the  character  of  Jesus  whether  joy  or  sorrow 
was  the  predominating  passion  of  His  life.  On 
one  hand  there  are  those  who  say  that  He  was  the 
man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief,  while 
on  the  other,  there  are  those  who  insist  that  He 
was  the  gladdest  of  men,  and  that  His  last  be- 
quest to  His  followers  was  the  joy  of  His  life. 
No  true  conception  of  the  life  of  Jesus  can  be 
discovered  along  the  line  of  such  a  discussion. 
Joy  and  sorrow,  comfort  and  cruel  necessity, 
were  but  the  incidents  of  His  life.  He  pursued 
no  goal  for  pleasure.  He  avoided  none  because  of 
pain.  His  supreme  aim  in  life  was  to  be  true  to 
Himself,  true  to  others,  true  to  God.  He  came 
not  to  do  His  own  will  but  to  do  the  will  of  His 
Father.  He  pleased  not  Himself,  and  duty, 
wherever  it  called,  claimed  His  conscience.  The 
way  of  life  to  Him  was  the  way  of  righteousness. 
Let  this  fact  then  be  established  that  the  high- 


12  The  Highway  of  Life 

way  of  life  is  the  way  of  goodness,  of  purity,  of 
truth,  of  holiness.  After  his  life  of  supreme 
achievement,  the  best  thing  the  Apostle  Paul 
could  say  of  himself  was,  that  he  had  finished 
the  course  and  had  kept  the  faith.  The  best 
thing  Sir  Walter  Scott  could  say  to  his  dearest 
friend  after  a  life  of  cleverness  and  culture  was, 
"  Be  a  good  man."  The  best  thing  John  Morley 
could  say  of  William  E.  Gladstone,  with  all 
his  scholarship  and  statesmanship  was  this, 
"  After  all,  the  world  is  interested  in  Mr.  Glad- 
stone not  so  much  because  of  what  he  did  as 
because  of  what  he  was."  The  only  person  who 
can  stand  at  the  last  in  the  presence  of  the  white 
light  that  beats  upon  the  Eternal  Throne  will  be 
the  one  who  has  clean  hands  and  a  pure  heart, 
and  who  has  come  into  the  experience  of  a  great 
personal  redemption.  This  highway  has  four 
marks. 


It  Is  a  Highway 

The  road  that  leads  to  the  highest  is  a  high- 
way. It  is  not  a  blind  alley  that  ends  nowhere, 
neither  is  it  a  by-path  that  leads  out  into  the 
wilderness,  but  it  is  a  well-trodden,  well-marked, 
well-lighted,  well-known  highway.  Over  it  gen- 
eration after  generation  has  come  singing  the 
song,  '*  Faith  of  Our  Fathers  Living  Still." 

As  far  as  I  know  the  young  men  and  women  of 
our  country,  I  have  often  felt  that  many  of  them 
possess  the  idea  that  success  lies  along  the  path 


The  Highway  of  Life  13 

that  is  odd,  the  achievement  of  something  that  is 
pecuHar,  the  following  out  of  some  idiosyncrasy, 
some  peculiar  bent  of  genius  that  will  lead  to  the 
heights.  I  would  not  for  a  moment  discourage 
genius  nor  doubt  the  possibility  of  peculiar  talent, 
but  I  am  well  convinced  that  success  in  the  main 
is  achieved  not  by  breaking  away  from  the  high- 
way over  which  others  have  come  to  greatness, 
but  clinging  tenaciously  to  the  beaten  path. 
"  Stand  ye  in  the  way  and  see  and  ask  for  the  old 
paths;  where  is  the  good  way,  and  ye  shall  find 
rest  unto  your  souls."  Be  assured  that  life  is 
not  a  puzzle  which  you  must  work  out  for  the 
first  time,  not  a  problem  which  you  are  called 
upon  to  solve,  not  a  conundrum  for  which  you 
are  to  search  in  the  realms  of  mystery  for  an 
answer,  but  a  life  to  be  lived  and  a  plain  path  to 
be  followed.  The  symbol  of  life  to  some  may  be 
a  sphynx  with  its  unanswerable  question  and  its 
endless  repetition  of  unlighted  mystery,  but  it 
cannot  be  that  such  a  symbol  holds  for  us.  If  it 
ever  did  hold,  Jesus  is  the  QEdipus  who  slew  the 
sphynx  and  set  before  us  an  open  door  and  a 
real  life.  I  am  quite  conscious  of  the  fact  that 
times  have  changed,  that  thought  is  changing, 
that  science  changes  over  night,  that  philosophy 
changes,  that  even  ethical  standards  have 
changed,  but  I  am  quite  sure  that  there  is  no 
advance  to  be  made  upon  the  time-worn  truth 
that  a  good  name  is  better  than  great  riches,  and 
that  the  righteous  are  held  in  everlasting  remem- 
brance. 


14  The  Highway  of  Life 

II 

It  Is  a  Safe  Way 

The  poetry  of  the  road  expresses  the  thought 
in  the  words,  "  No  Hon  shall  be  there."  I  do  not 
say  that  it  is  an  easy  way,  but  I  do  say  that  it 
is  a  safe  way,  and  when  one  must  make  an  in- 
vestment of  his  life,  the  first  requirement  he 
should  demand  is,  that  the  investment  which  he 
makes  shall  be  safe.  You  cannot  live  your  life 
over  again  if  you  should  make  a  mistake.  You 
cannot  recall  your  investment,  neither  can  you 
retrace  your  steps  and  feel  again  for  firmer  foot- 
ing for  your  feet.  You  must  make  the  great  ven- 
ture of  life,  and  you  must  make  it  now.  Other 
young  men  have  made  it  and  some  have  lost  both 
principal  and  interest,  while  others  have  come 
into  a  great  and  priceless  inheritance.  The 
Christian  life  is  not  an  easy  life.  Bunyan's  Pil- 
grim did  not  find  the  highway  an  easy  way.  He 
found  the  Slough  of  Despond  in  the  middle  of 
the  path,  and  the  Hill  Difficulty,  the  Valley  of 
Humiliation  and  the  deep  dark  turbulent  river, 
but  nevertheless  he  found  in  that  way  security. 
The  gate  opened  before  him  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Slough,  at  the  top  of  the  Hill  Difficulty  he 
entered  the  Palace  Beautiful,  in  the  Valley  of 
Humiliation  the  angel  guards  surrounded  him, 
and  through  the  dark  river  he  discovered  a  safe 
and  a  sure  path  to  the  City  of  God.  Whatever 
you  are  planning  to  do  with  your  life,  be  sure 
that  the  investment  you  make  of  it  is  safe. 


The  Highway  of  Life  15 

III 

It  Is  a  Direct  Way 

It  comes  at  last  to  the  goal.  It  is  a  road  that 
leads  somewhere.  It  does  not  lead  out  into  the 
swamps,  nor  lose  itself  in  the  sands,  but  comes 
at  last  to  the  city.  Dropping  the  poetry  of  it, 
the  prophet  is  calling  the  people  to  a  life  of  pur- 
pose. He  is  setting  before  them  an  aim,  an 
achievement,  an  end.  Every  road  must  come  at 
last  to  the  city,  and  every  life  must  claim  its 
crown. 

"  Life  is  an  arrow,  therefore  you  must  know, 
What  mark  to  aim  at,  how  to  bend  the  bow; 
Then  draw  it  to  its  head  and  let  it  go." 

Every  true  life  must  be  motived  by  a  great  pur- 
pose which  will  include  all  the  accidents  and  inci- 
dents of  Hfe  that  cross  and  re-cross.  We  think 
of  General  Gordon,  shut  up  in  Khartoum  wait- 
ing for  the  re-enforcements  and  the  relief  that 
failed  to  come,  conscious  of  a  mighty  purpose, 
and  faithful  even  in  failure  to  the  faith  that 
righteousness  is  supreme,  quietly  saying  to  him- 
self the  great  words  of  Browning: 

"  I  see  my  way  like  birds  their  trackless  way ; 
I  shall  arrive;  what  time  or  circuit  first, 
I  ask  not ;  But  unless  God  send  His  hail, 
Or  blinding  fireballs,  sleet,  or  stifling  snow 
In  some  time,  His  good  time,  I  shall  arrive. 
He  guides  me  and  the  birds." 

Surely  that  is  a  goal  that  is  better  than  a  victory 
on  the  battlefield,  for  in  the  end  the  greatest 


i6  The  Highway  of  Life 

faith  one  can  exercise  apart  from  faith  in  God  is 
to  keep  faith  with  one's  own  soul;  the  greatest 
battle  one  has  to  fight  is  the  battle  within  the 
secret  place  of  one's  own  heart,  and  the  greatest 
victory  that  one  can  attain  is  to  possess  one's 
own  soul  in  patience  and  in  the  power  of  a  great 
peace.  I  commend  this  goal  to  you.  None  other 
is  worthy  of  your  effort,  and  none  worthy  of  the 
sacrifice  which  life,  however  it  is  lived,  always 
demands.  The  true  knight  of  the  Holy  Grail 
turned  from  a  life  of  self-pursuit  with  the  words 
of  a  true  dedication : 

"  Follow  the  Christ,  the  King, 
Live  pure,  speak  true,  right  wrong,  follow  the  King! 
Else,  wherefore  born?" 


IV 

It  Is  a  Friendly  Way 

Those  who  travel  upon  this  highway  travel 
upward  with  a  song  upon  their  lips.  They  come 
with  singing  unto  Zion  and  everlasting  joy  is 
upon  their  heads;  they  obtain  gladness  and  joy, 
and  sorrow  and  sighing  flee  away.  That  is  the 
poetry  of  friendliness.  Sorrow  belongs  to  the 
night  and  sighing  belongs  to  solitude,  but  sing- 
ing belongs  to  the  day,  and  to  a  life  of  friendship. 
I  would  have  you  make  this  the  test  of  life.  The 
true  life  in  its  last  analysis  is  a  friendly  life. 
Christianity  is  the  most  companionable  thing  in 
the  world.  Anything  that  separates  you  from 
your  friends  and  neighbours,  that  sets  you  in  a 
solitary  place,  that  isolates  and  segregates  you, 


The  Highway  of  Life  17 

that  makes  you  experience  loneliness,  is  not  of 
the  religion  which  we  preach.  A  religion  that 
makes  one  sour  and  pessimistic  and  gloomy,  is 
not  the  gospel  of  Christ.  The  gospel  which  we 
commend  to  you  is  the  gospel  of  the  blessed  God. 
I  would  have  you  feel  that  religion  as  it  is  re- 
vealed to  us  in  Jesus  is  the  most  beautiful,  the 
most  companionable,  the  most  friendly  of  all  Hfe's 
relationships,  for  religion  in  its  last  analysis  is  as 
simple  and  as  beautiful  as  human  friendship.  It 
is  the  one  tie  that  binds  our  hearts  in  sacred  love. 
Religion  unites.     Sin  separates. 

There  is  nothing  in  all  the  world  that  isolates 
and  segregates  and  separates  a  man  from  his  fel- 
lows like  sin.  Judas  goes  out  into  the  night  alone 
and  leaves  the  eleven  to  their  friendly  fellowship. 
Doubt,  too,  is  lonely.  There  is  no  one  in  all  the 
world  so  homesick,  so  friendless,  so  lonely  as  the 
doubter.  Thomas  is  alone  with  his  doubt,  but 
the  ten  disciples  are  in  the  upper  room  in  friendly 
fellowship  and  religious  communion,  George 
Eliot  in  her  doubt  needs  a  crucifix  while  she  pur- 
sues her  strange,  solitary  purpose;  but  rehgion  is 
friendly  and  Jesus  is  the  great  companion  of  the 
friendly  way. 

They  tell  us  that  over  on  the  battlefields  of 
Europe,  soldiers  speak  of  the  great  Comrade  in 
White  who  walks  unharmed  in  the  midst  of  the 
crimson  fire  of  the  world's  conflict.  In  the  agony 
of  death  and  the  horror  of  darkness  that  come 
upon  the  soldiers,  alone  in  white.  He  comes,  calm 
and  strong,  always  faithful,  always  unafraid;  no 
whizzing  bullet  harms  Him,  no  shattering  shell 
touches  Him,  He  goes  on  unharmed  in  His  minis- 


1 8  The  Highway  of  Life 

try  of  healing  and  helpfulness,  comforting  the 
wounded  and  caring  for  the  sick,  the  great  name- 
less but  not  unknown,  the  Comrade  in  White. 
This  is  the  story  they  tell.  Whether  fact  or  fic- 
tion it  reveals  a  mighty  reality. 

It  may  be  you  will  never  be  permitted  to  see 
Him  upon  the  bloody  battlefield,  but  I  com- 
mend Him  to  you — the  great  unseen  Companion 
and  Guide  along  life's  trodden  highway.  He 
does  not  ''  live  in  a  house  by  the  side  of  the  road 
where  the  race  of  men  go  by."  He  travels  the 
road  with  the  multitude;  He  keeps  step  with 
them,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  bringing  them  at  last 
to  the  City  of  God,  and  into  the  presence  of  the 
Father.  I  commend  Him  to  you.  Where  He 
leads  I  beg  of  you  to  follow,  for  He  leads  over 
the  highway,  over  a  safe  and  friendly  way,  to 
life's  long,  last  limit — to  the  goal. 


II 

Who  Is  a  Christian? 

"  The  disciples  were  called   Christians  first  in  Antioch." 

— Acts  i  i  :  26. 

YOU  can  trace  the  word  Christian  to  within 
ten  years  of  the  death  of  Christ.  It  is  a 
strange  and  suggestive  word.  It  has  a 
Hebrew  significance,  a  Greek  formation  and 
a  Latin  ending.  Like  the  title  over  the  cross  it 
is  written  in  Hebrew,  Greek  and  Latin.  We  are 
told  that  the  history  of  the  world  is  written  in  the 
rocks  and  it  is  also  true  that  the  history  of  Re- 
demption is  written  in  the  languages  of  civiliza- 
tion. You  do  not  need  to  go  far  into  the  past  to 
find  the  place  where  the  name  of  Jesus  was  intro- 
duced into  the  language  of  Korea,  and  you  can 
trace  our  religion  in  the  origin  and  use  of  this 
word  Christian,  through  English  and  Old  Eng- 
lish, through  High  and  Low  German,  through 
Latin  and  Greek,  back  to  within  ten  years  of  the 
crucifixion.  There  is  Christian  apologetics  for 
you!  In  that  fact  you  have  a  strong  anchor  for 
your  faith  and  credible  evidence  of  the  truth  of 
the  Gospel  you  profess.  Deeper  than  any  fossil 
hidden  in  the  rocks  is  the  truth  of  the  revelation 
of  God  embedded  in  the  common  language  of  the 
people. 

What  does  the  name  signify?     They  called  the 

19 


20  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

followers  of  Pompey,  *'  Pompeiani,"  that  is  to  say 
Pompey's  people,  and  so  they  called  the  follow- 
ers of  Jesus,  ''  Christiani,"  that  is  to  say  Christ's 
people,  the  people  who  believed  in  and  followed 
the  Christ  of  Galilee  as  the  anointed  Messiah  of 
God.  Yet  as  Leslie  Stephen  has  said,  ''  The 
word  '  Christian  '  has  become  one  of  the  vaguest 
epithets  in  the  language."  We  are  all  Christians, 
that  is  to  say  if  we  are  not  Jews.  This  is  a  Chris- 
tian civilization  and  the  Chinaman  is  reported  to 
have  said,  that  he  could  not  be  a  Christian  be- 
cause he  ''  could  not  shoot  good  enough."  We 
have  a  Christian  literature  and  Christian  news- 
papers and  yet  many  of  us  know  that  Christianity 
does  not  approve  of  much  that  bears  its  name. 
On  the  other  hand,  Max  Miiller,  who  was  a 
scientific  student  of  language,  said,  "  I  dare  not 
call  myself  a  Christian :  I  have  hardly  met  a  man 
in  all  my  life  who  deserved  that  name."  To  him 
the  word  is  quite  definite  but  to  Mr.  Stephen, 
it  is  vague  and  illusory  and  escapes  the  power 
of  exact  definition.  It  may  be  to  its  credit,  how- 
ever, that  the  word  is  vague.  All  living  words 
grow  and  change.  Only  dead  words  are  definite 
and  dead  languages  alone  are  fixed  in  their  mean- 
ings. It  is  only  safe  to  build  monuments  to  dead 
men,  for  while  men  and  words  and  languages  live 
and  breathe  they  change,  and  as  words  change 
they  take  on  altered  significance.  Christ  is  bet- 
ter loved  and  better  known  in  our  day  than  ever 
before  and  the  word  Christian  possesses  likewise 
a  larger  and  a  fuller  content.  It  will  be  of  in- 
terest to  trace  the  origin  and  significance  of  this 
now  consecrated  word. 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  ^1 


We  notice  in  the  first  place  that  the  name  was 
a  child  of  necessity.  The  followers  of  Jesus  did  not 
call  themselves  by  that  name.  They  were  called 
Christians  by  other  people.  They  called  them- 
selves by  less  distinctive  titles.  We  have  the 
commonest  name  by  which  they  were  known  in 
this  same  verse,  '*  The  disciples  were  called  Chris- 
tians." They  were  Disciples  and  that  is  the  name 
we  find  most  frequently  in  the  Gospels.  Jesus 
was  their  teacher.  They  were  His  scholars  and 
belonged  to  His  school.  It  was  from  His  lips 
they  learned  the  great  teaching  concerning  God 
and  the  destiny  of  the  human  soul.  He  was  their 
Way,  their  Truth  and  their  Life.  But  they  were 
more  than  scholars,  for  they  trusted  in  Him  and 
were  ready  to  lay  down  their  lives  for  Him,  and 
so  they  were  called  Believers.  And  through  the 
Epistles  the  music  of  that  word,  which  reveals  a 
personal  friendship  and  the  fidelity  of  a  great 
devotion,  is  heard  again  and  again.  They  were 
called  Saints — separated  men  and  women,  men 
and  women  who  would  not  associate  themselves 
with  the  vile  customs  of  those  pagan  times  and 
endeavoured  to  be  pure  in  heart  and  hand.  As 
their  numbers  grew  and  their  social  order  en- 
larged they  called  themselves  Brethren,  for  they 
were  united  by  a  bond  that  was  strong  as  death. 
These  were  the  names  by  which  they  were 
known,  Disciples,  Believers,  Saints,  Brethren, 
and  they  took  up  thes^  common  words  and  con- 
secrated them. 

Neither  did  the  Jews  call  the  followers  of  Jesus 


22  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

by  this  now  sacred  name.  The  Jews  never 
would  have  submitted  to  this  name  Christian,  for 
it  enshrined  their  Messianic  hope.  They  would 
have  been  willing  to  call  them  Jesuits,  followers 
of  Jesus  the  Man  of  Nazareth,  but  never  Chris- 
tians, followers  of  the  Messiah.  The  Jews  called 
them  by  local  and  provincial  and  partisan  names. 
They  called  them  Nazarenes,  Galileans  and  Sec- 
tarians. 

The  name  '*  Christian  "  was  given  to  the  fol- 
lowers of  Jesus  neither  by  themselves  nor  by 
the  Jews  but  by  the  Greek-speaking  people  of 
Antioch.  It  was  a  nickname,  a  by-word,  and  it 
was  given  in  derision  and  contempt.  The  people 
of  Antioch  were  noted  for  their  jibes  and  cyni- 
cism and  scurrilous  wit,  and  because  of  their 
abuse,  the  Persians,  at  a  later  date,  destroyed 
their  city.  They  were  masters  of  abusive  and 
indecent  language,  and  turned  everything  into  a 
jest.  The  disciples  had  been  working  in  Antioch 
for  over  a  year,  and  so  peculiar  were  they  in  their 
customs  and  habits  and  ideals  that  there  was  no 
name  to  describe  them.  Generally  speaking  the 
early  followers  of  Jesus  were  people  of  low  caste 
and  of  no  social  standing,  separating  themselves 
from  the  social  life  of  their  time  and  worshipping 
a  man  who  ten  years  before  had  been  crucified  as 
a  criminal.  Paul  takes  us  back  into  the  atmos- 
phere in  which  they  lived.  "  We  are  made  a 
spectacle  unto  the  world  both  to  angels  and  men. 
We  are  fools  for  Christ's  sake;  we  are  weak,  we 
have  dishonour.  We  even  unto  this  present  hour 
both  hunger  and  thirst  and  are  naked  and  are 
buffeted  and  have  no  certain  dwelling  place;  and 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  23 

we  toil,  working  with  our  own  hands;  being  re- 
viled we  bless;  being  persecuted  we  endure; 
being  defamed  we  entreat,  we  are  made  as  the 
filth  of  the  world,  the  off-scouring  of  all  things 
even  until  now."  And  to  describe  this  type  of 
people,  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a  new 
name  was  created  of  necessity  and  they  called  the 
disciples  of  Jesus,  Christians. 

And  wherever  we  meet  this  word  in  the  New 
Testament  there  is  a  sting  in  it;  there  is  reproach 
and  ridicule.  Peter  in  his  day  said  to  his 
brethren,  ''  Let  none  of  you  suffer  as  a  thief  or 
as  an  evil  doer,  or  as  a  meddler  in  other  men's 
matters,  but  if  he  suffer  as  a  Christian  let  him  not 
be  ashamed."  There  you  have  the  followers  of 
Jesus  classified  in  the  thought  of  that  time, 
thieves,  evil  doers,  meddlers  in  other  men's  mat- 
ters. Christians.  Agrippa  said  unto  Paul  after  the 
apostle  had  preached  righteousness,  purity  and 
peace  in  his  presence,  '*  With  but  little  persuasion 
thou  wouldest  fain  make  me  a  Christian."  There 
is  hopeless  sarcasm  in  the  word,  the  same  tone 
that  we  hear  in  the  voice  of  Shylock,  "  I  have  a 
daughter,  would  that  any  of  the  stock  of  Barab- 
bas  had  been  her  husband  rather  than  a  Chris- 
tian." To  make  the  confession,  "  I  am  a  Chris- 
tian," was  to  merit  insult  and  abuse.  The 
Christian  and  the  wild  beast  were  partners  to- 
gether in  the  same  sport  of  society. 


II 

We  find,  however,  that  the  disciples  did  not 
resent  the  name  that  was  given  them,  and  in  a 


24  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

few  years  it  became  the  universal  appellation  of 
the  followers  of  Jesus.  They  took  the  name  and 
transformed  it,  pouring  into  its  mould  all  the  con- 
tent of  their  rich  experience  until  they  changed 
its  significance  and  glorified  it.  *'  What's  in  a 
name?  "  you  ask,  and  I  answer,  "  Character  is  in 
a  name.  History  is  in  a  name.  Centuries  of  pure 
living  and  high  thinking  are  in  a  name."  And 
thus  names  become  the  symbols  of  righteousness 
or  perhaps  of  evil.  They  called  the  followers  of 
George  Fox,  Quakers,  and  they  spoke  the  name 
in  contempt,  but  no  one  pointed  to  William 
Penn  in  ridicule.  They  called  the  followers  of 
John  Wesley,  Methodists,  and  they  spoke  the 
word  with  the  suggestion  of  a  sneer,  but  the 
glory  of  their  history  is  written  across  the  face 
of  the  world.  They  called  the  fathers  of  our 
modern  liberty,  Puritans,  and  they  spoke  the 
name  with  suspicion,  but  no  one  dared  to  chal- 
lenge the  character  of  Oliver  Cromwell.  On  the 
other  hand  they  called  certain  people  who  pro- 
fessed to  be  followers  of  Jesus,  Jesuits.  That  was 
a  new  and  a  beautiful  name,  but  the  people  who 
claimed  it  poured  into  the  mould  of  that  new 
name  all  the  content  of  years  of  cunning  and 
underhand  diplomacy  until  a  Jesuit  is  described 
as  a  crafty  person,  designing,  deceitful,  cunning, 
an  intriguer.  In  our  day,  we  see  the  word  "  Ger- 
man "  undergoing  a  change,  taking  on  a  new 
and  a  strange  significance.  The  name  is 
weighted  with  the  moral  character  of  him  who 
bears  it.  When  the  disciples  were  first  called 
Christians  they  remembered  the  Beatitude  of 
Jesus,  ''  Blessed  are  ye  when  men  shall  hate  you, 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  25 

and  shall  separate  you  from  their  company  and 
shall  reproach  you  and  cast  out  your  name  as 
evil  for  the  Son  of  Man's  sake,"  and  they  rejoiced 
in  that  day  and  were  glad. 

I  said  before  and  I  repeat  that  the  name  was  a 
child  of  necessity.  A  distinctive  name  was  given 
to  designate  a  new  species.  The  people  of 
Antioch  had  many  names  in  their  resourceful 
language  but  they  had  no  name  to  cover  this 
type  of  character.  They  had  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans and  Jews  and  Gentiles  and  Samaritans  and 
Pagans  in  that  cosmopolitan  city  of  Syria,  but 
they  had  no  name  for  these  people  among  whom 
there  was  no  room  for  such  distinctions  as  Jew 
and  Greek,  bond  and  free,  Barbarian  or  Scythian. 
New  people,  like  new  thoughts  and  ideas  and 
things,  demand  new  names.  When  the  electrical 
age  came  in,  a  whole  family  of  new  names  was 
born.  When  the  age  of  science  came  in  a  new 
dictionary  had  to  be  prepared.  And  this  new 
manhood  and  womanhood  had  not  hitherto  been 
classified.  These  people  did  things,  said  things, 
lived  things — lived  things  hitherto  unheard  of  in 
the  history  of  the  world.  They  lived  purity, 
purity  of  a  new  order,  purity  of  thought  and  feel- 
ing. They  lived  forgiveness,  forgiveness  of  a 
new  kind,  forgiveness  for  friend  and  foe  alike. 
They  lived  love,  love  of  a  new  order,  love  for  all 
the  world,  for  bond  and  free,  rich  and  poor. 
They  lived  humility,  humility,  new  to  the  world, 
humility  that  was  a  reproach  to  the  people,  hu- 
mility that  made  a  friend  of  poverty  and  of  work- 
ingmen  and  of  slaves,  and  they  preached  these 
ideas  and  taught  them  and  lived  them  and  glori- 


26  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

fied  them  until  they  produced  a  new  type  of 
manhood  and  womanhood  after  the  likeness  of 
Jesus.  When  persecution  and  epidemic  broke 
out  at  Carthage  and  the  great  and  the  wealthy 
fled  in  terror,  Cyprian,  the  great  bishop  of  the 
church  said,  ''  Now  let  us  overcome  evil  with 
good,'*  and  while  friends  and  relatives  left  the 
city  in  dismay  the  Christians  laboured  on  in  their 
services  of  comfort  and  healing. 

And  this  is  what  I  am  thinking  about.  I  am 
wondering  if  we  were  to  lose  the  name  today,  if 
we  were  to  lose  it  as  Hermas  lost  the  great  word 
in  the  story  of  Dr.  Van  Dyke's  "The  Lost 
Word,"  if  we  would  by  our  lives,  by  our  conduct 
and  by  our  character  recreate  the  necessity  for 
a  new  name  because  of  a  distinctive  type  of  char- 
acter. Years  ago  Strauss  published  an  article 
entitled,  "Are  we  yet  Christians?"  and  the 
question  is  still  thought  provoking.  Because  of 
your  Christian  character  would  the  men  in  the 
streets  of  Pittsburgh  need  a  new  name  by  which 
to  describe  you?  Because  of  the  sweetness  of 
your  disposition  and  the  winsomeness  of  your 
character  would  you  who  mingle  in  the  social 
circles  of  the  city  both  claim  and  require  the 
designation  of  a  new  name?  Does  your  life  de- 
mand the  continuation  of  a  distinctive  name  or 
must  you  wear  a  badge  and  recite  a  creed  and 
herald  your  allegiance  in  order  to  be  known  as  a 
Christian?  Are  we  Christians  when  the  work 
that  Jesus  came  to  do  is  languishing  for  lack  of 
men  and  lack  of  means?  Are  we  Christians 
when  men  and  women  cross  over  sea  and  land 
to  tell  the  Gospel  Story  and  we  spend  money  for 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  27 

that  which  is  not  bread?  Are  we  Christians 
when  we  lack  the  power  to  purify  our  commer- 
cial and  civic  and  national  life?  In  his  Magic 
Hall  of  Camelot,  Tennyson  gives  the  approach  to 
the  castle  through  four  great  zones  or  belts  of 
sculpture.  On  the  lowest,  beasts  are  slaying 
men;  on  the  second,  men  are  slaying  beasts;  on 
the  third  are  warriors  and  men  are  slaying  men. 
On  the  fourth  and  highest,  men  with  growing 
wings  are  standing,  looking  up  to  the  ideal  Man 
who  stands  above  all,  beckoning  those  beneath, 
on  and  upward.  That  is  the  call  of  the  Christian. 
We  have  long  since  passed,  I  trust,  the  first  and 
the  second  zones ;  but  today  many  seem  to  be  lin- 
gering with  hesitating  thought  and  doubtful  step 
in  the  atmosphere  of  the  third,  where  crowned 
warriors  look  down  upon  the  ages.  We  are  only 
Christians  as  we  follow  the  Spirit  of  the  Highest 
and  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles  into  the  purer 
atmosphere  of  righteousness  and  truth  and  love. 


Ill 

The  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  in  'An- 
tioch.  Let  us  not  miss  the  local  colouring.  In 
ten  years  Christianity  is  speaking  Greek.  Renan 
says  that  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  things  in 
history.  In  ten  years  after  Jesus  died  His  re- 
ligion possessed  in  the  capital  of  Syria  a  local 
habitation  and  a  name.  In  ten  years  Christianity 
had  made  for  itself  an  enviable  reputation  in  the 
great  cosmopolitan  centre  of  Antioch. 

There  is  great  faithlessness  among  our  people 
about  the  city  and  there  is  occasion  for  it.    When 


28  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

we  see  the  city  through  the  eyes  of  Jesus,  we 
have  compassion  on  it.  The  sin  and  the  shame, 
the  Hghts  and  the  shadows,  the  cries  of  poverty 
and  distress,  are  ever  before  our  eyes  and  in  our 
ears,  and  as  we  see  and  hear,  our  faith  fails  us. 
But  there  is  no  faithlessness  concerning  the  city 
in  the  New  Testament.  Paul  struck  for  the  city 
and  made  his  headquarters  there.  He  centred 
his  thought  upon  Athens  and  Corinth  and  Phi- 
lippi  and  Ephesus  and  Jerusalem  and  Antioch, 
and  prayed  God  that  He  would  spare  his  life  until 
he  could  demonstrate  the  Gospel  of  Power  in  the 
imperial  city  of  Rome.  In  one  short  year  Paul 
was  able  to  make  it  known  in  Antioch  that  a  new 
life  had  taken  up  its  abode  there  and  a  new  char- 
acter was  in  evidence. 

The  disciples  were  called  Christians  first  in 
Antioch.  That  is  a  record,  suggestive  of  victory. 
Antioch  was  the  third  city  in  the  world,  Rome 
and  Alexandria  alone  surpassing  it.  It  held  a 
population  of  half  a  million.  Situated  on  the 
slope  of  Mount  Silpius,  with  the  broad  navigable 
river  Orontes  at  its  feet,  a  boulevard  five  miles 
long,  paved  not  with  asphalt  or  cobble  stones, 
but  with  the  purest  of  white  marble ;  with  flower- 
ing trees,  statues,  colonnades,  bridges,  baths, 
basilicas,  villas,  theatres;  surrounded  by  a  wall 
that  clung  like  a  natural  barrier  to  the  mountain 
eminence  that  overshadowed  the  city,  it  was  a 
place  of  dreamy  beauty.  Luxury,  culture, 
beauty,  pleasure,  commerce,  paganism,  heathen- 
ism, barbarism,  superstition  and  religion  mingled 
there  in  all  the  rich  luxuriance  of  the  East.  It 
was  the  meltings  pot  of  the  nations.    The  immi- 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  29 

gration  problem  was  at  its  crisis  in  Antioch,  but 
it  was  there  Paul  planted  the  cross  and  made 
those  laughter-loving  people  stand  at  attention. 
There  were  no  Alps  to  Napoleon  and  there  are 
and  can  be  no  obstacles  to  the  Gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ,  save  in  the  faithless  allegiance  of  His  fol- 
lowers. He  makes  no  alliances,  no  compromises, 
no  comparisons.  He  demands  in  Antioch,  in 
Athens,  in  Rome,  in  New  York  and  in  Pitts- 
burgh, unconditional  surrender.  God  hath  highly- 
exalted  Him  and  given  Him  a  name  at  which 
every  knee  shall  bow. 


IV 

Who  then  is  a  Christian f  He  is  the  man  who 
defies  the  world  and  enthrones  in  the  most  diffi- 
cult situation  the  spirit  of  Christ.  His  religion 
is  based  not  on  philosophy  nor  on  science,  not  on 
dogma  nor  upon  an  institution,  but  on  the  Christ 
of  God,  who  is  The  Way,  The  Truth  and  The 
Life.  A  Christian  is  one  who  follows  Christ  in 
his  spirit  of  sacrificial  service  and  who  manifests 
the  spirit  of  Christ  in  a  crooked  and  perverse 
generation.  William  E.  Gladstone  gave  of  the 
meagre  leisure  of  a  busy  life,  time  and  thought 
to  the  rescue  of  fallen  women,  and  he  was  harshly 
and  bitterly  criticized  for  so  doing.  In  his  biog- 
raphy— one  of  the  greatest  in  all  literature — 
John  Morley,  who  himself  is  not  a  Christian  as 
we  generally  define  the  term,  asks  the  pertinent 
question  of  the  critics  of  that  great  Christian 
statesman,  "  But  what  is  a  Christian  for?  "  And 
so  we,  too,  ask  the  question,  ''  What  is  a  Chris- 


30  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

tian  for?  "  What  is  he  for  but  to  reproduce  in 
the  world  the  spirit  of  Christ  which  conquered 
the  ancient  world  and  must  conquer  the  modern 
world? 

Last  week  I  stepped  into  a  Mission  Chapel  sup- 
ported by  our  church,  and  found  two  young 
women,  scientifically  trained  kindergarten  teach- 
ers, in  the  midst  of  nearly  a  hundred  little  chil- 
dren between  the  ages  of  four  and  six.  The 
building  and  the  room  were  spotlessly  clean  and 
flowers  were  in  the  windows.  Many  of  the  chil- 
dren were  sitting  on  the  floor,  for  there  were  not 
sufficient  little  chairs  for  all.  These  children 
had  come  into  the  Mission  School  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore, ragged  and  dirty  and  disorderly.  And  now 
they  were  happy-hearted  and  hopeful  and  clean. 
They  sang  their  songs  with  cheer  and  gladness 
which  increased  in  volume  as  they  began  the  old 
familiar  hymn  of  our  own  childhood  days,  '*  Jesus 
loves  me."  And  then  they  formed  their  circle  and 
played  their  games,  and  this  is  one  of  the  games 
they  played:  A  little  lad  with  strange  pathetic 
eyes  and  wistful  face,  who  I  was  told  afterwards 
slept  in  one  house  and  ate  in  another  because 
his  parents  were  under  surveillance  of  the  police, 
passed  around  behind  his  companions  and  gave 
to  every  sixth  or  seventh  child  something  out  of 
a  basket.  To  the  sound  of  music  these  favoured 
few  stepped  forward  and  each  told  what  he 
thought  he  had  in  his  hand  behind  him.  One 
little  girl  thought  she  had  a  button,  she  was  sure 
she  had  a  button.  It  was  round  and  hard  and 
small  and  had  a  hole  in  the  centre.  Yes,  she  was 
sure  it  was  a  button,  but  when  she  drew  forth 


Who  Is  a  Christian?  31 

her  hand  and  looked  in  it,  it  was  not  a  button 
but  a  ring.  And  when  I  saw  that,  I  said  to  my- 
self as  Bunyan's  Pilgrim  said  in  the  house  of  the 
Interpreter,  "  I  think  I  know  what  that  meaneth." 
When  in  the  love  and  the  spirit  of  Jesus  we 
look  at  it  through  His  eyes  we  see  that  it  is  not 
charity  that  we  hold  in  our  hands.  It  is  a  ring, 
set  with  priceless  jewels,  every  one  of  which  is 
the  life  and  destiny  of  a  little  child.  And  to  re- 
create now  in  any  section  of  a  great  city,  through 
the  transforming  spirit  of  Jesus,  a  sweet  and  a 
heavenly  atmosphere,  where  new  hopes  and 
luminous  ideals  are  born,  that  is  the  task  of  the 
Christian,  and  to  that  task  we  gird  ourselves. 
Within  a  year  the  spirit  of  God  so  moved  upon 
the  civic  life  of  Antioch  that  a  new  name  was 
taken  up  into  the  vocabulary  of  the  people.  In 
a  remarkable  study  of  the  life  of  Christ,  ''  The 
Jesus  of  History,"  the  author,  Professor  T.  R. 
Glover,  of  Cambridge,  says,  "  The  Christian  pro- 
claimed a  war  of  religion  in  which  there  shall  be 
no  compromise  and  no  peace  till  Christ  is  Lord 
of  all;  the  thing  shall  be  fought  out  to  the  bitter 
end.  And  it  has  been.  He  was  resolved  that  the 
old  gods  should  go;  and  they  have  gone.  How 
was  it  done?  Here  we  touch  what  I  think  one 
of  the  greatest  wonders  that  history  has  to  show. 
How  did  the  Church  do  it?  If  I  may  invent  or 
adapt  three  words,  the  Christian  '  out-lived  '  the 
pagan,  '  out-died  '  him  and  *  out-thought '  him. 
.  .  .The  old  religion  crumbled  and  fell,  beaten 
in  thought,  in  morals,  in  life,  in  death.  And  by 
and  by  the  only  name  for  it  was  paganism,  the 
religion   of   the   back   country   villages,   of   the 


32  Who  Is  a  Christian? 

out-of-the-way  places.  Christ  had  conquered." 
That  victory  of  the  early  church  is  our  challenge, 
for  their  God  is  our  God  and  His  Spirit  still 
broods  over  all.  In  the  surging  centres  of  our 
commercial  life,  in  New  York,  in  Chicago,  in 
Pittsburgh,  the  challenging  opportunity  of  the 
present  is  ours  to  demonstrate  the  transforming 
power  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus,  and  in  the  spirit  of 
Him,  whom  having  not  seen  we  love,  to  bring  in 
the  new  day  of  sweetness  and  light,  of  love  and 
good  will.  This  is  our  challenge  and  this  is  our 
call. 

"  In  simple  trust  like  theirs  who  heard 
Beside  the  Syrian  sea 
The  gracious  calling  of  the  Lord, 
Let  us,  like  them  without  a  word 
Rise  up  and  follow  Thee." 


Ill 

To  Whom  Shall  We  Go? 

"To  whom  shall  we  go?    Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life"— JoHfi  6:68. 

JESUS  had  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ways. 
The  goal  to  which  He  had  been  leading  was 
at  last  revealed.  At  the  end  of  the  path 
there  was  a  cross.  His  followers  were  unwilling 
to  face  that  cross,  and  when  they  saw  it  they 
fled.  They  were  disappointed.  They  thought 
that  at  the  end  of  the  path  there  would  be  a 
throne,  a  crown  and  a  sceptre.  They  had  fol- 
lowed Him  because  of  His  miracles,  but  they 
discovered  He  was  not  a  mere  healer,  and  that 
the  world  was  something  other  than  a  hospital, 
and  men  and  women  needed  more  than  health. 
They  came  to  understand  that  He  was  not 
merely  a  philanthropist,  multiplying  bread  and 
allaying  the  hunger  of  the  crowd,  and  that  the 
world  was  something  more  than  a  banquet  and  a 
feast,  for  men  and  women  could  not  live  by 
bread  alone.  They  found  out  that  He  was  not 
merely  a  reformer,  and  that  the  world  was  some- 
thing more  than  organized  society,  for  men  and 
women  needed  something  other  than  law  and 
legislation.  He  was  a  Saviour  from  sin,  a  Re- 
deemer from  selfishness,  a  Guide  to  spiritual 
reality.     His  kingdom  was  not  of  this  world. 

33 


34  To  Whom  Shall  Wc  Go? 

When  that  fact  stood  out  clearly  the  crowd 
deserted  Him.  When  they  could  no  longer  use 
Him,  exploit  Him,  draw  upon  Him  for  the  supply 
of  selfish  wants  they  left  Him.  At  the  sight  of 
the  cross  they  fled. 

And  it  was  Jesus  Himself  who  forced  the  issue. 
He  had  the  crowd,  but  He  chose  to  let  it  go.  He 
purposely  disillusioned  the  crowd.  He  would 
not  have  them  follow  a  wrong  lead,  and  when 
they  knew  His  real  mission  they  went  back  and 
followed  no  more  with  Him.  They  followed  Him 
for  the  loaves  and  fishes  and  He  refused  to  be  a 
party  to  a  fraud.  He  was  ready  to  give  them 
purity  of  heart,  a  love  of  truth,  a  devotion  to 
service,  to  show  them  the  cross,  and  when  they 
understood  His  real  mission  they  deserted. 
Turning  to  the  disciples  who  refused  to  follow 
the  fleeing  multitude,  understanding  the  situa- 
tion perfectly,  and  facing  the  great  crisis  of  His 
ministry.  He  said  to  them :  ''  Will  ye  also  go 
away?'*  Were  they,  too,  disappointed  in  what 
He  came  to  give  and  do?  Had  they  no  interest 
in  spiritual  things?  Were  they  also  reHgious 
parasites,  lap-dog  followers,  rice-Christians? 
Fired  with  a  new  enthusiasm  and  speaking  for 
his  companions  and  for  us,  Peter  said,  "  Lord, 
to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the  words  of 
eternal  life."  It  was  a  magnificent  confession, 
full  of  sweet  reasonableness  and  convincing 
loyalty,  and  it  stands  as  a  challenge  to  all  the 
centuries. 

There  are  in  this  apostolic  answer  three  ele- 
ments. There  is  the  confession  of  a  great  need, 
there  is  the  suggestion  of  a  great  search,  and 


To  Whom  Shall  We  Go?  35 

then,  there  is  the  discovery  of  a  great  fact.     Let 
us  look  at  them  in  turn. 


There  is,  first  of  all,  the  confession  of  a  great 
need.  It  is  not  expressed  so  much  as  implied.  It 
is  not  stated  so  much  as  it  is  inferred.  The  in- 
ference drawn  from  Peter's  answer  is  simply 
this :  that  it  was  necessary  for  them  to  go  some- 
where, to  some  one  to  supply  the  great  crying 
need  of  their  lives.  Just  as  men  seek  after  food 
and  human  friendship,  so  the  human  heart  seeks 
after  religious  satisfaction  and  soul-rest.  "  As 
the  hart  panteth  after  the  water  brooks,  so 
longeth  my  soul  after  Thee."  "  Men  think,"  said 
Amiel,  "  that  they  can  do  without  religion." 
They  do  not  know  that  religion  is  indestructible 
and  that  the  question  simply  is,  "  Which  will  you 
have?  "  Man  is  incurably  religious  and  if  he 
does  not  find  a  spiritual  and  rational  God  he  will 
prostrate  himself  before  some  deity  of  his  own 
devising. 

Men  have  intellectual  needs,  which  cry  out  for 
satisfaction.  There  are  three  questions,  accord- 
ing to  Ruskin,  which  every  man  is  bound  to  ask: 
"What  am  I?"  "Whence  did  I  come?" 
"Whither  am  I  going?"  And  the  answer  to 
these  simple  questions  which  thrust  themselves 
into  the  thought  of  every  one  of  us,  leads  us 
out  into  questions  of  religion,  for  they  are  ques- 
tions that  religion  alone  can  satisfactorily  an- 
swer. To  say  at  the  last,  with  the  unbeliever,  "  I 
am  taking  a  great  leap  in  the  dark,"  will  not 


36  To  Whom  Shall  We  Go? 

satisfy  the  intellect,  much  less  the  heart  of 
man. 

Men  have  moral  needs.  Sometimes  the  sense 
of  weakness  and  human  helplessness  come  upon 
us  and  we  are  smitten  with  a  consciousness  of 
fear  and  doubt  and  misgiving,  and  our  souls 
cry  out,  "Who  can  deliver  us?'*  We  seek  and 
search  for  some  great  Deliverer.  Sometimes  we 
are  face  to  face  with  a  sense  of  unworthiness. 
We  lose  our  self-respect,  the  light  that  is  in  us 
is  turned  to  darkness,  and  the  altar  fires  of  our 
highest  hopes  and  fairest  ideals  die  down.  We 
seek  and  search  for  new  life  and  new  light. 

We  have  emotional  needs.  We  are  human  and 
all  that  is  human  in  us  calls  out  for  love  and 
emotional  response.  We  demand  sympathy,  per- 
sonal fellowship  and  spiritual  companionship. 
No  system  of  ethics  or  philosophy  can  give  it  to 
us.  We  call  for  a  face  that  will  answer  to  our 
face,  a  hand  that  will  answer  to  our  hand,  a 
heart  that  will  answer  to  our  heart.  Wherever 
you  find  any  system  of  thought  that  has  claimed 
to  be  religious  you  discover  the  process  of  creat- 
ing a  personality  upon  which  the  human  heart 
may  lean.  Confucianism  has  deified  its  founder, 
who  advised  men  to  leave  the  gods  alone.  Chris- 
tian Science,  which  robs  God  of  His  personality, 
is  unconsciously  deifying  its  discoverer  and  first 
interpreter.  The  same  is  true  of  Buddhism  and 
Mohammedanism.  Even  the  Greeks,  who  wor- 
shipped the  sun  in  his  strength,  clothed  the  sun 
with  garments  of  personality  and  called  their 
god  Apollo,  the  youth  with  the  golden  hair  and 
radiant  countenance. 


To  Whom  Shall  We  Go?  37 

We  must  go  somewhere.  These  needs  of  our 
humanity  are  unconquerable  and  unquenchable. 
The  search,  even  among  savages,  for  a  people 
who  have  no  religion  and  no  faith,  has  at  last 
been  discontinued.  Every  nation  has  felt  after 
God  if  haply  it  could  find  Him.  Men  who  have 
purposely  renounced  their  former  religion  have 
taken  up  with  religion  in  some  other  form.  We 
think  of  Lafcadio  Hearn,  born  in  the  Ionian 
Isles,  son  of  an  English  father  and  a  Grecian 
mother,  educated  in  England  and  France,  an 
American  journalist,  with  wonderful  powers  of 
poetic  description,  a  naturalized  citizen  of  Japan. 
He  became  a  bitter  antagonist  of  religion,  scof- 
fing at  the  Christian  faith,  writing  glowing  ac- 
counts of  the  original  paganism  of  the  Japanese, 
wishing  that  all  missionaries  could  be  sent  home 
and  their  ships  torpedoed  on  the  high  seas;  and 
yet  in  one  of  his  letters  to  a  friend  he  says  that 
he  had  been  listening  to  a  congregation  singing, 
"  Nearer,  My  God,  to  Thee,  Nearer  to  Thee,'* 
and  that  it  had  stirred  him  to  the  very  depths  of 
his  soul.  We  do  not  wonder  at  that.  We  won- 
der at  men  seeking  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  an 
immortal  soul  with  the  perishing  husks  of  a 
worldly  philosophy.  And  they  never  succeed. 
By  whatever  name  they  call  their  deity,  some- 
where or  other,  in  the  silent  secret  place  of  their 
life,  there  is  some  altar  upon  which  the  sacred 
fire  burns,  some  shrine  before  which  they  bow 
down   and  make   their  obeisance. 


38  To  Whom  Shall  We  Go? 


II 


In  the  second  place  there  is  the  suggestion  of  a 
great  search.     ''  To  whom  shall  we  go?  " 

The  question  is  not  concerning  the  fact  of 
religion,  which  is  unavoidable,  but  concerning 
the  religion  which  will  satisfy  our  hearts  and 
give  rest  unto  our  souls.  '*  To  whom  shall  we 
go?'*  These  men  who  asked  the  question  had 
been  over  the  road  and  had  worshipped  at  many 
shrines,  and  now  they  were  at  His  feet.  If  they 
did  not  abide  there,  where  would  they  go?  The 
Romans  built  their  pantheon,  their  temple  for 
all  the  gods,  open  to  the  eternal  heavens,  and 
in  it  they  placed  the  gods  of  the  nations.  Which, 
god  in  the  Pantheon  shall  be  our  god?  Whose 
name  shall  we  bear?  Whose  gospel  shall  we 
proclaim?  Whose  word  shall  we  follow?  Before 
whose  shrine  shall  we  kneel?  If  we  do  not  go  to 
Jesus,  where  shall  we  go?  It  is  easy  enough  to 
criticize  and  to  destroy,  but  what  shall  we  sub- 
stitute? Where  shall  we  go?  Let  us  face  the 
issue  fairly. 

There  was  one  thing  these  followers  of  Jesus 
might  have  done.  They  might  have  gone  back 
to  their  old  faith,  to  their  synagogue,  to  the  God 
of  the  Old  Testament.  They  might  have  re- 
turned to  their  monotheistic  faith,  their  unitarian 
conception  of  God.  In  a  word,  they  might  have 
gone  back  to  Jehovah.  Shall  we  go  back  to  the 
God  of  the  Old  Testament?  I  am  afraid  that  is 
what  multitudes  without  knowing  it  are  doing 
today.  They  have  left  Jesus  for  Jehovah.  They 
have  turned  their  backs  upon  the  Prince  of  Peace 


To  Whom  Shall  We  Go?  39 

for  the  God  of  battles.  The  war  lords  of  Eu- 
rope, who  have  devastated  cities  and  desecrated 
homes  and  broken  the  hearts  of  thousands  of 
little  children,  make  their  appeal  not  to  the  God 
and  Father  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ,  but  to  some  glacial  god  of  their  own  con- 
ceiving, who  fits  in  with  the  hard  ways  of  far- 
away days  before  Jesus  revealed  God  in  all  His 
loving  kindness.  The  war  lords  do  not  dare  to 
claim  that  Jesus,  the  meek  and  lowly,  is  on  their 
side.  Theirs  is  a  God  of  the  scimitar  and  the 
sword.  If  you  do  not  go  to  Jesus,  will  you  go 
back  again  to  the  faith  of  a  bygone  age  and  take 
your  place  in  the  synagogue?  '*  The  Word  was 
made  flesh  and  we  beheld  His  glory;  the  glory 
of  the  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace 
and  truth."  Shall  we  turn  our  backs  on  the 
glory? 

Well,  then,  we  might  go  to  one  of  the  other 
religions  of  the  world.  Some  of  them  are  older 
than  Christianity  and  are  hoary  with  age.  They 
have  stood  the  shock  of  centuries.  But  to 
which  of  them  shall  we  go?  Shall  we  go  to  Hin- 
dooism,  with  its  pantheistic  philosophy,  and  its 
polytheistic  religion?  Ask  a  Hindoo  who  is  his 
god  and  he  will  tell  you  that  you  must  define 
your  question,  for  he  has  three  hundred  and 
thirty  millions  of  gods.  You  will  recall  that 
there  are  three  hundred  and  fifteen  millions  of 
people  in  India,  so  that  after  you  have  given 
each  one  his  god  you  have  a  surplus  of  gods  to 
the  extent  of  fifteen  millions,  and  they  are  so 
unclean  that  their  temples  are  places  of  im- 
morality and  wickedness  and  their  holy  books 


40  To  Whom  Shall  Wc  Go? 

are  so  obscene  and  immoral  and  impure  that  the 
British  Government,  by  special  statute,  has  ex- 
empted them  from  the  general  law  which  pro- 
hibits obscene  literature  passing  through  the 
mails.  Shall  we  go  back  to  the  theosophy  of 
India? 

Shall  we  go  to  Buddha,  whom  Edwin  Arnold 
called  the  **  Light  of  Asia," — the  light  that  has 
turned  the  lives  of  millions  of  people  to  darkness, 
the  god  which  preaches  that  death  is  better  than 
life,  that  annihilation  is  better  than  death,  and 
that  all  that  one  can  hope  for  is  to  be  born  and 
born  again,  a  thousand,  a  million  times,  until  a 
sleep  from  which  none  ever  awakes  shall  cast  its 
veil  of  oblivion  over  all  thinking  and  feeling. 
To  escape  from  life,  from  bondage,  from  the 
prison  house  of  time  and  eternity,  that  is  the 
highest  heaven  one  could  wish. 

"  How  many  births  are  passed  I  cannot  tell, 

How  many  births  to  come,  no  man  can  say; 
But  this  alone  I  know,  and  know  full  well, 
That  pain  and  grief  embitter  all  the  way." 

On  the  other  hand  we  might  turn  to  a  younger 
faith  than  Christianity.  We  might  turn  to  Mo- 
hammedanism, which  rejects  the  Lordship  of 
Jesus  and  which  has  driven  primitive  Christianity 
from  the  field  of  the  East.  Well,  if  you  go  to 
Mohammed,  you  will  I  hope  go  with  your  eyes 
open  and  not  in  the  spirit  of  blind  sympathy. 
Wherever  Mohammedanism  has  gone,  it  has 
either  found  a  desert  or  made  one.  The  Moham- 
medan world  is  in  the  grip  of  a  dead  man's  hand. 
It  puts  a  sword  of  conquest  into  the  hand  of 


To  Whom  Shall  We  Go?  41 

every  man.  It  degrades  and  desecrates  all 
womankind,  puts  a  veil  upon  the  face  of  every 
mother  and  wife  and  daughter,  condemns  them 
to  slavery,  and  clouds  their  lives  for  time  and  for 
eternity.     Surely  we  will  not  go  there! 

Somewhere  you  must  go.  At  some  shrine  you 
must  kneel.  It  is  for  those  who  turn  their  backs 
on  Jesus  to  point  the  new  way.  Perhaps  it  is  to 
one  of  our  modern  American  gods  that  you  will 
kneel,  for  kneel  you  must.  You  have  perhaps 
developed  some  cultured  paganism  of  your  own 
and  are  bowing  down  to  a  god  who  has  eyes  but 
sees  not,  who  has  ears  but  hears  not,  who  has 
feet  but  they  lead  nowhere.  Perhaps  literature 
is  your  god,  or  music,  or  society,  or  culture,  or 
wealth,  or  just  your  own  selfish  ideal.  Better 
far  to  turn  to  one  of  the  ancient  world  faiths, 
with  its  sense  of  mystery,  its  silent  reverence,  its 
speechless  adoration.  There  at  least  you  will 
acknowledge  your  need.  Everywhere  men  are 
"  falling  with  their  weight  of  cares,  upon  the 
great  world  altar  stairs,  that  slope  through  dark- 
ness, up  to  God.  They  stretch  lame  hands  of 
faith,  and  grope,  and  gather  dust  and  chaff,  and 
call  to  what  they  feel  is.  Lord  of  all."  Not  one 
in  all  the  world's  multitude,  who  has  not  joined 
in  the  search  and  said,  "  To  whom  shall  we  go?  " 

III 

In  the  third  place  there  is  the  discovery  of  a 
great  fact. 

The  apostle's  confession  of  faith  is  definite  and 
explicit     *'  To    whom    shall    we    go    but    unto 


4£  To  Whom  Shall  We  Go? 

Thee?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life." 
That  is  the  great  discovery  and  that  is  the  great 
challenge.  The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  an  eter- 
nal Gospel.  It  is  a  Gospel  of  life  because  Jesus 
Himself  is  the  Son  of  God,  the  Holy  One,  the 
Saviour.  He  is  in  a  thirsty  world  as  living  water, 
springing  up  into  everlasting  life.  The  other  day 
I  stood  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Ontario,  held  in 
the  icy  grasp  of  the  frost  king.  The  ice  had 
formed  a  bridge  which  reached  across  the  bay 
and  silence  reigned  from  shore  to  shore.  Some- 
how it  came  in  upon  me  that  I  heard  the  sound 
of  running  water  and  I  wondered  if  the  water 
under  the  icy  barrier  was  undergoing  some 
strange  movement.  But  it  was  living  water  that 
I  heard,  and  following  the  sound  I  found  a  short 
way  up  the  shore,  a  spring  of  crystal  clear  water 
that  ran  gleefully  down  the  icy  bank,  singing  like 
a  brook  in  spring-time  and  mingling  its  waters 
with  the  great  flood  beneath  the  snow  and  the 
ice  of  the  great  expanse.  That  was  living  water, 
beyond  the  touch  of  summer's  sun  or  winter's 
frost,  singing  in  the  gladness  of  its  freedom  and 
sparkling  in  its  crystal  purity.  And  I  thought 
as  I  watched  it  flowing  there  in  the  midst  of  the 
winter,  inexhaustible  and  constant  and  beautiful 
and  sweet,  that  it  seemed  like  a  symbol  of  our 
Christian  faith.  We  stand  upon  the  icy  barriers 
of  other  faiths  and  hear  the  singing  of  the  crys- 
tal stream  that  flows  past  the  throne  of  God,  and 
that  wells  up  within  our  hearts  into  eternal  life. 
Jesus  has  the  words  of  eternal  life. 

The  Gospels  in  telling  the  story  of  His  life 
exhaust  language  in  their  endeavour  to  point  out 


To  Whom  Shall  We  Go?  43 

His  power  to  satisfy  and  to  save.  Take  this  Gos- 
pel of  John,  from  which  we  have  just  read.  The 
author  uses  every  form  of  words  in  trying  to  tell 
us  that  Jesus  can  supply  the  world's  needs.  He 
selects,  out  of  the  wealth  of  material  that  is  at 
his  disposal,  seven  miracles,  not  to  surprise  the 
mind  of  man  by  the  mysteries  of  the  supernatural 
and  the  spectacular,  but  in  order  that  he  may 
show  in  these  natural  acts  of  a  supernatural 
Saviour  just  what  He  can  do  for  men.  Consider 
the  deeper  meaning  of  those  seven  miracles.  Is 
it  joy  we  need?  Then  let  us  come  to  the  wed- 
ding feast  at  Cana  in  Galilee.  He  will  turn  the 
water  into  wine  for  every  one  of  us.  Is  it  love 
we  need?  Come,  let  us  see  Him,  by  a  word 
grant  new  life  to  the  little  lad,  the  son  of  the 
nobleman,  and  give  him  back  to  the  love  of  his 
own  home  again.  Is  it /^ow^r  we  need?  See  Him 
touch  the  impotent  man  at  Bethsaida  and  cause 
him  to  leap  and  walk  again.  Is  it  mercy  we  need? 
See  Him  break  the  bread  and  multiply  it  and 
give  food  to  the  wandering  thousands  in  the 
desert.  Is  it  peace  we  need?  Peace,  sweet 
peace!  Then  see  Him  still  the  storm  on  Galilee. 
Is  it  light  we  need;  light  to  lead  us  down  the 
path  of  life?  Then  see  Him  touch  the  eyes  of 
the  blind  man  and  cause  him  to  see  the  sun.  Is  it 
life  we  need?  Surely  we  all  need  life.  Then  see 
Him  standing  at  the  sepulchre  of  the  dead,  and 
hear  Him  call  down  through  the  silent  halls  of 
death,  "  Lazarus,  come  forth !  "  and  he  that  is 
dead  leaps  into  life  again. 

Jesus  alone  has  the  words  of  eternal  life.     He 
alone  satisfies  the  world's  need,  and  He  is  knock- 


44  To  Whom  Shall  We  Go? 

ing  at  the  world's  door  today.  He  has  scarcely 
been  given  a  chance.  He  has  hardly  had  a  fair 
trial.  He  awaits  His  great  opportunity.  Phillips 
Brooks  once  said,  it  is  as  if  Michael  Angelo  were 
waiting  outside  a  house  in  which  were  paints  and 
brushes  and  immense  canvases,  begging  an  en- 
trance to  come  in  and  paint,  yet  standing  outside 
saying,  **  If  I  were  in  there  I  would  make  a  pic- 
ture." So  Jesus  stands  outside  the  door  of  na- 
tions, outside  the  door  of  our  own  hearts  while 
within  is  all  the  rich  possibilities  of  life,  and 
He  says:  ''Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and 
knock."  Let  Him  in,  and  He  will  make  life 
what  it  ought  to  be. 


IV 
What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

"  Why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord!  and  do  not  the  things  which 
I  say?" — Luke  6:46. 

THERE  is  only  one  answer  to  this  ques- 
tion. It  is  the  answer  of  silence.  Jesus 
does  not  pause  for  an  answer.  Indeed,  it 
is  hardly  a  question  at  all.  If  we  did  not  know 
our  Lord  better  we  might  interpret  it  as  a 
caustic  rebuke.  If  we  could  have  seen  His  face 
and  the  expression  upon  His  countenance,  I  think 
we  would  have  noted  it  as  a  question  with  an 
element  of  pity  and  surprise  and  patient  love. 
Jesus  was  never  deceived  in  people.  He  saw 
them  through  and  through,  and  if  He  could 
speak  words  of  love  He  could  also  speak  words 
of  tremendous  judgment.  He  sometimes  called 
men  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing,  sometimes  He 
pictured  them  as  whited  sepulchres,  often  and 
often  he  called  men  hypocrites,  actors  on  the 
stage  of  life,  who  said  one  thing  and  did  another, 
who  thought  one  thing  and  practised  another, 
who  said,  ''  Lord,  Lord !  "  and  did  not  the  things 
which  He  said.  "Why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord! 
and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say?  "  Why  do 
you  confess  to  my  deity  and  refuse  to  conform 
your  character  to  my  example?  Why  do  you 
speak  my  name  in  your  creed  and  deny  me  in 

45 


46  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

your  conduct?  Why  are  you  orthodox  in  your 
thought  and  heterodox  in  your  practice?  Why 
do  you  assent  to  my  lordship  and  resent  my  dis- 
cipleship?  If  it  is  true  that  we  are  justified  by 
faith,  it  is  also  true  that  our  faith  is  justified  by 
our  works,  and  that  the  fruit  of  faith  is  the  last 
test  of  life  and  of  religion. 


Today,  as  never  before,  we  are  brought  face 
to  face  with  this  crucial  test  and  judgment  which 
Jesus  proposes  for  all  religion  and  for  all  life.  If 
we  take  the  world  view  of  life  today,  what  is  it 
we  see?  What  is  this  strange  anomaly  that 
meets  our  eyes?  What  is  it  we  behold?  What  a 
great  world-wide  denial  of  the  teaching  of  Jesus 
do  we  see?  We  see  professedly  Christian  nations 
of  Europe  by  their  action  denying  the  principles  of 
the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  denying  the  ethics 
of  Jesus,  denying  His  example  of  brotherhood, 
and  love  of  peace.  We  see  them  looking  into  His 
face  and  saying,  ''  Lord,  Lord !  '*  Whatever  may 
be  the  difference  of  creed  between  the  Protes- 
tants, the  Roman  Catholics  and  the  Greek  Catho- 
lics who  are  facing  each  other  in  the  tragedy 
and  horror  of  bloodshed,  each  and  all  of  them 
unite  in  the  creed  that  Jesus  is  very  God  of  very 
God,  Light  of  Light,  the  Everlasting  Saviour, 
the  Prince  of  Peace.  Great  Britain  bends  the 
knee  to  the  Father  Everlasting.  Germany  con- 
fesses to  bend  the  knee  unto  Him  Who  is  Lord 
and  Judge  of  All.  Russia  bows  down  and  says, 
''  Thou  art  the  Adorable  True  and  Only  Son." 


What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do  47 

Austria  lifts  her  eyes  and  says,  "  Thou  art  the 
King  of  Glory,  O  Christ!"  and  France,  in  her 
hour  of  need  lifts  her  heart  to  Him  who  sitteth  at 
the  right  hand  in  the  glory  of  the  Father  Ever- 
lasting. And  yet  His  Kingdom  is  righteousness, 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit.  Why  call  we 
Him  ''  Lord,  Lord,"  and  do  not  the  things  which 
He  says?  As  never  before  the  nations  are 
brought  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 
While  we  believe  firmly  in  the  Christian  motive 
that  determines  our  attitude  to  this  world  war, 
we  must  offer  up  our  prayer  of  penitence,  that 
after  twenty  centuries  of  Christianity,  war — and 
war  such  as  this — is  the  ripened  fruit  of  our 
civilization. 

The  great  question  before  our  age  is  not  one 
of  orthodoxy  in  thought,  but  one  of  orthodoxy  in 
conduct,  character,  life  and  practice.  We  are,  I 
fear,  failing  before  that  test  and  it  is  the  only 
available  test  that  we  can  make. 

We  know  the  teaching  of  Jesus  about  the  in- 
nermost thought  of  the  heart.  We  know  what 
Jesus  says  concerning  the  good  tree.  If  you 
make  the  tree  good  the  fruit  will  be  good,  but  if 
the  fruit  is  not  good  what  must  be  the  conclu- 
sion? We  know  that  out  of  the  heart  are  the 
issues  of  life  and  that  as  a  man  thinketh  in  his 
heart  so  is  he.  We  know  that  a  man's  creed  will 
ultimately  determine  his  character  and  his  con- 
duct. But  what  if  the  conduct  is  not  good? 
What  if  the  character  is  not  true?  What  if  the 
practices  of  life  deny  the  principles  of  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus?  We  must  draw  our  own  con- 
clusions then,  and  say  that  if  we  see  the  house 


48  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

against  which  the  storm  has  broken,  lying  in  a 
heap  of  ruinous  confusion  upon  the  earth,  the 
foundation  has  been  unsound.  If  we  see  the  tree 
and  discover  that  the  fruit  is  not  sweet,  that  it 
sets  our  teeth  on  edge,  then  we  know  that  there 
is  something  radically  the  matter  with  the  tree's 
life.  If  we  see  the  stream  of  life  flowing  down 
through  the  centuries  and  it  is  polluted,  then  we 
must  conclude  that  civilization  somewhere  has 
been  polluted,  and  possibly  polluted  at  its  source. 
"  Why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord !  and  do  not  the 
things  which  I  say?" 

That  was  what  KipUng  was  trying  to  say  in 
his  own  strange  way.  He  brought  his  man  be- 
fore the  judgment  bar  to  receive  his  sentence. 

And  they  came  to  the  gate  without  the  wall  where   Peter 

holds  the  keys. 
"  Stand  up,  stand  up,  now,  Tomlinson,  and  answer  loud  and 

high, 
The  good  that  you  did  for  the  sake  of  men,  or  ever  you 

came  to  die — 
The  good  that  you  did  for  the  sake  of  men  in  little  earth 

so  lone ! " 
And  the  naked  soul  of  Tomlinson  grew  white  as  a   rain- 
washed  bone. 
"This  I  have  read  in  a  book,"  he  said,  "and  this  was  told 

to  me, 
And  this   I  have  thought  that  another  man  thought,  of   a 

prince  in  Muscovy." 
And  Peter  twirled  the  jangling  keys  in  weariness  and  wrath; 
"Ye  have  read,  ye  have  heard,  ye  have  thought,"  he  said, 

"  and  the  tale  is  yet  to  run, 
By  the  worth  of  the  body  that  once  ye  had,  give  answer: 

What  have  you  done  ?  " 


What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do  49 

II 

This  is  the  very  test  Jesus  put  to  Himself. 
With  the  shame  and  the  sorrow  and  the  sin  of  ail 
the  world  upon  Him,  carrying  His  cross  and 
climbing  the  way  of  pain,  He  said:  "  Lo,  I  come 
to  do  Thy  Will,  O  God  !  "  Weary  with  the  travel 
of  the  long  journey,  and  the  misunderstanding  of 
His  followers,  He  sat  by  Jacob's  well,  and  said, 
"  My  meat  and  my  drink  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him 
that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  His  work."  They 
came  to  Him  and  said:  "Art  Thou  the  Christ? 
Art  Thou  Deity  Incarnate?  Art  Thou  the  Mes- 
siah?" And  He  answered  them:  *' Go  and  tell 
John  the  things  which  ye  have  seen  and  heard; 
the  blind  receive  their  sight,  the  lame  walk,  the 
lepers  are  cleansed  and  the  deaf  hear,  the  dead 
are  raised  up,  the  poor  have  good  tidings 
preached  to  them.  And  blessed  is  he,  whosoever 
shall  find  no  occasion  of  stumbling  in  me."  Jesus' 
test  of  His  own  work,  was  the  fruit  which  His 
Gospel  brought  forth. 

You  say  that  the  things  which  Jesus  tells  you 
to  do  are  so  multiple,  so  many,  that  you  are  lost 
in  the  maze  of  His  commandments,  that  what  He 
tells  you  to  do  is  legion.  I  am  not  so  sure  of 
that.  I  am  not  so  sure  that  the  teachings  of 
Jesus  are  so  complex,  so  intricate  that  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  decipher  what  He  tells  us  to  do.  You 
can  read  everything  that  remains  to  us  of  what 
Jesus  has  spoken  in  the  short  hours  of  a  Sunday 
afternoon.  All  He  left  the  world  is  bound  up  in 
fragmentary  sentences  that  fill  only  a  few  short 
pages.    The  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  made 


50  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

up  of  long  lists  of  precepts  and  rules.  The  Gos- 
pel of  Jesus  Christ  is  a  spirit  of  love  and  life  and 
liberty.  He  tells  us  to  do  certain  very  simple  i 
things.  I  think  we  could  include  all  He  tells  us 
to  do  in  two  divisions  of  thought,  and  I  think  we 
would  have  His  own  justification  for  so  simplify- 
ing His  teaching. 

Ill 

In  the  first  place,  Jesus  tells  us  to  put  God 
first.  He  tells  us  to  seek  first  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  is  righteousness 
and  peace  and  joy.  He  tells  us  that  no  one  can 
serve  two  masters,  and  that  in  all  the  world  there 
are  only  two  masters.  He  tells  us  to  put  God 
first.  That  is  the  first  great  commandment. 
''  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy 
heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy 
strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind."  He  tells  us 
to  give  God  our  best,  to  put  Him  first  in  our 
thought,  first  in  our  business,  first  in  our  home, 
first  in  our  politics,  first  in  our  civilization.  And 
I  think  of  all  the  things  that  we  are  doing,  that 
is  the  thing  that  we  do  not  do.  I  put  it  to  you 
in  all  sincerity,  as  you  go  among  your  friends,  and 
your  companions,  as  you  meet  them  in  the  street, 
in  the  shop,  in  the  store,  in  the  factory,  in  the 
club,  in  the  hotel — I  put  it  to  you  in  all  sincerity, 
when  I  ask  you  the  question — are  the  men  and 
women  in  this  generation  putting  God  first? 

How  many  men  are  there  who  are  taking  their 
place  at  the  side  of  Benjamin  Disraeli,  and  say- 
ing, at  least  in  underbreath,  *'  I  am  here  for 
fame !  "    How  many  are  taking  their  place  at  the 


What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do  51 

side  of  Herbert  Spencer,  and  consciously  or  un- 
consciously saying,  ''  All  that  a  man  can  do  in  this 
world  is  to  make  his  mark  and  then  die."  How 
many  are  taking  their  place  with  Lord  Byron, 
great  intellectual  genius  as  he  was,  and  in  con- 
duct make  this  confession:  "I  am  here  for  a 
round  of  pleasure — on  with  the  dance !  "  How 
many  are  taking  their  place  with  Elijah  upon  the 
mountain  side,  saying  faithlessly  and  disconso- 
lately: "  I  don't  see  why  God  ever  made  me.  I 
have  no  aim  nor  purpose  in  life."  How  many 
men  are  taking  their  place  with  the  man  whom 
Jesus  so  graphically  pictured  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, the  man  who  made  comfort  his  god  and 
selfishness  his  ideal  and  wealth  his  dream.  He 
said  to  himself,  ''  Thou  hast  much  goods  laid  up 
for  many  years;  take  thine  ease."  Then  came 
the  challenge,  *'  This  night  thy  soul  shall  be  re- 
quired of  thee."  The  man  who  had  lived  for  the 
world  and  lived  for  himself  and  lived  for  his 
wealth,  and  lived  for  his  own  selfishness,  speak- 
ing at  last  about  his  "  soul,"  and  out  of  the  un- 
known there  came  the  cry,  *'  This  night  thy  soul 
(the  very  thing  that  he  had  been  neglecting  and 
trampling  under  foot),  this  night,  thy  soul  shall 
be  required  of  thee."  Jesus  tells  us  to  put  God 
first  and  then  we  may  put  anything  we  like  sec- 
ond. God  commands  our  best,  our  best  thought, 
our  best  gift,  our  best  talent. 

I  was  reading  not  long  since  a  book  which 
came  to  me  from  a  friend  at  the  Christmas  sea- 
son. It  is  a  volume  of  poems  by  Rabindranath 
Tagore,  who  received  the  Nobel  prize  for  litera- 
ture.   He  is  seeking  through  the  shadows  of  his 


52  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

pantheistic  faith  after  the  One  who  moves  un- 
seen behind  this  world  of  ours.  In  one  of  those 
little  prose  poems  there  is  a  parable.  I  give  it 
from  memory.  "  He  was  a  beggar  upon  the 
road,  going  from  house  to  house,  asking  alms  of 
the  people  and  gathering  into  his  wallet  the 
grains  that  out  of  their  poverty  the  people  gave 
him,  when  the  chariot  of  the  King  came,  and  in 
it  the  King  of  kings.  When  he  saw  the  royal 
chariot  he  thought  that  the  luck  of  his  life  had 
come  at  last.  Now  his  poverty  would  be  turned 
to  wealth,  for  the  King  had  come.  The  King 
stepped  from  out  his  chariot  and  greeted  him 
with  outstretched  open  hand.  He  was  asking 
alms  of  him  who  was  a  beggar.  And  he  said : 
*  What  foolishness  is  this!  What  mockery  is 
this,  that  the  King  should  ask  of  me  alms!' 
And  he  took  from  his  wallet  a  least  little  grain 
and  gave  it  to  the  King,  and  in  a  moment  he  was 
in  his  chariot  and  was  gone.  But  that  night,  as 
he  spread  out  upon  the  floor  the  grain  that  he 
had  gathered  during  the  day,  there  was  one  least 
little  grain  of  gold.  And  then  he  wept  and 
wished  he  had  had  the  heart  to  give  the  King  his 
all." 

And  when  our  last  day  is  ended  and  the  work 
of  life  is  done  I  wonder  if  at  the  last  we  shall 
hold  in  our  hands  just  the  common  grain  which 
we  have  gathered,  or  if,  perchance,  having  given 
of  our  grain  and  of  our  best,  we  shall  find  it 
changed  into  heaven's  golden  treasure! 

"  We  lose  what  on  ourselves  we  spend, 
We  have  as  treasure  without  end 
Whatever,  Lord,  to  Thee  we  lend, 
Who  givest  all!" 


What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do  53 

IV 

And  then  Jesus  tells  us  to  do  something  else. 
Having  given  our  best  to  God,  He  tells  us  to 
give  our  best  also  to  our  neighbour.  If  He  tells 
us  to  put  God  first,  He  tells  us  to  put  our  neigh- 
bour second.  The  young  man  v^ho  came  to  Jesus 
was  perplexed,  as  w^e  have  often  been  perplexed 
about  the  commandments  of  the  religious  life, 
and  said  to  Jesus,  "  Which  is  the  greatest  com- 
mandment of  the  Law?"  And  Jesus  said  unto 
him:  '*  The  first  and  the  great  commandment  of 
the  Law  is  this :  '  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  soul,  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with 
all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind;  and  the 
second  is  like  unto  it,  thou  shalt  love  thy  neigh- 
bour as  thyself.'  "  But  it  is  really  not  a  second 
commandment  at  all,  for  the  Law  of  love  is  all  of 
one  piece,  like  the  Master's  seamless  robe,  and 
the  man  who  has  entered  into  an  understanding 
of  the  Fatherhood  of  God  and  the  love  of  Christ 
has  already  comprehended  the  Brotherhood  of 
man. 

Where  will  you  find  God?  Will  you  find  Him 
in  the  stars  or  the  sky  or  flowers  of  the  field? 
You  will  find  Him  robed  in  our  humanity.  ''  The 
Word  was  made  Flesh  and  dwelt  among  us." 
**  Inasmuch  as  you  have  done  it  to  the  least  of 
these,  my  brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me." 
**  We  know  that  we  have  passed  out  of  death 
into  life,  because  we  love  the  brethren."  *'  Who- 
soever hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer." 
*'  Hereby  know  we  love,  because  He  laid  down 
His  life  for  us;  and  we  ought  to  lay  down  our 


54  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

lives  for  the  brethren,"  ''  No  man  hath  beheld 
God  at  any  time."  *'  If  a  man  say,  '  I  love  God  * 
and  hateth  his  brother,  he  is  a  Har;  for  he  that 
loveth  not  his  brother  whom  he  hath  seen,  can- 
not love  God  v^hom  he  hath  not  seen."  How 
strangely  condemning  those  words  are.  ''  Why 
call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the  things 
which  I  say?  " 

Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself. 
Who  is  my  neighbour?  The  man  who  needs  me. 
Oh,  how  provincial  we  are !  You  know  what  it 
is  to  be  provincial.  From  what  we  call  our  big 
city  we  go  to  a  little  village  in  the  country 
and  listen  to  the  gossip  of  the  village,  to  the 
paltry  talk  of  the  neighbours,  that  speaks  of 
little  plans  and  little  things.  They  of  the  vil- 
lage have  a  little  vision  and  a  little  newspaper, 
and  live  a  little  narrow  life  and  you  say,  **  How 
provincial !  "  You  yourself  Hke  the  broad  world 
outlook.  You  like  to  speak  and  think  in  terms 
of  the  universe.  And  yet  how  provincial  is  our 
Christianity  !  It  is  Presbyterian  or  Protestant  or 
American  or  Anglo-Saxon,  but  there  is  no  pro- 
vincialism in  the  Gospel  of  Jesus.  Cecil  Rhodes, 
the  maker  of  South  Africa,  said  that  God  thought 
in  continents.  Some  men  think  in  nations,  and 
some  in  states,  and  some  in  cities,  and  some  in 
villages.  Cecil  Rhodes  said  that  God  thought  in 
continents.  Jesus  said  God  thought  in  terms  of 
the  universe.  Jesus  told  us  to  go  into  all  the 
world  and  make  disciples  of  the  whole  creation. 
"  Why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord,  and  do  not  the 
things  which  I  say?  " 

Are  you  willing  to  take  into  the  circle  of  your 


What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do  55 

brotherhood  the  children  of  God  scattered 
abroad?  They  said  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  that  he 
treated  every  man  like  a  born  brother.  That 
was  a  fine  thing  to  say.  That  was  the  spirit  of 
Jesus.  That  was  the  spirit  of  Christ  gained  in 
the  atmosphere  of  the  cross.  The  great  Scottish 
nobleman  treated  every  man  like  a  born  brother, 
and  that  is  what  the  world  needs  today.  Oh, 
how  it  needs  it!  Oh,  the  pathos  and  the  tragedy 
of  the  world's  situation  as  we  see  it  today ! 
"  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself." 
The  infinite  value  of  every  human  life!  The  in- 
finite value  of  every  little  child,  no  matter  what 
his  language  or  his  race,  no  matter  what  his 
colour  or  his  creed!  During  the  march  of  Na- 
poleon over  the  Alps  of  Italy  we  are  told  that  a 
great  avalanche  swept  across  his  path,  and  a 
little  drummer  boy  was  carried  in  the  falling 
snow  down  into  the  great  gorge  below.  He  was 
not  hurt,  and,  standing  upon  his  great  snow 
mountain,  he  began  to  beat  the  charge,  and 
word  was  taken  to  the  great  commander  of  the 
perilous  position  of  the  lad.  Only  extraordinary 
measures  could  have  saved  him,  but  what  was  a 
little  boy  to  the  man  who  thought  of  battalions 
in  terms  of  food  for  powder?  Onward  they 
marched  and  as  the  army  disappeared  over  the 
hill  they  heard  the  sound  of  the  funeral  march 
that  the  lad  was  playing  for  his  own  requiem  in 
his  icy  prison  house  of  death. 

That  is  the  world's  gospel  thought  out  to  its 
conclusion.  The  Gospel  of  the  Cross  is  the  gos- 
pel of  salvation  unto  the  uttermost.  Jesus  came 
not  to  destroy  life,  but  to  save  it.    How  beautiful, 


56  What  Jesus  Tells  Us  to  Do 

how  beautiful  upon  the  mountains  are  the  feet 
of  those  who  bring  the  good  tidings !  The  Son 
of  Man  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost. 

More  than  usual  we  feel  today  the  pertinency 
of  the  message :  "  Why  call  ye  me  Lord,  Lord, 
and  do  not  the  things  which  I  say?  "  What  is 
the  truest  symbol  of  our  faith?  Is  it  not  the 
Cross?  How  dare  we  live  a  life  of  ease  and 
luxury  and  then  claim  that  the  symbol  of  our 
faith  is  the  Cross?  The  Cross  means  sacrifice, 
service,  suffering,  surrender.  It  is  not  hard  to 
know  what  Jesus  tells  us  to  do.  His  religion  is 
not  a  conundrum.  His  Gospel  is  not  a  problem 
which  we  must  figure  out  intellectually,  but  a 
great  spirit  of  love  and  sympathy  and  service. 
The  artist  sent  his  students  to  Rome  and  said: 
"  Go  and  look  at  the  Apollo  Belvedere,  and  if 
you  see  no  beauty  in  it,  look  again,  and  look 
again,  and  again,  for  be  well  assured  that  beauty 
is  there."  As  never  before,  with  all  the  con- 
tradiction of  our  conduct  and  with  all  the  enig- 
mas and  paradoxes  of  our  faith  and  practice,  we 
see  Jesus  lifted  up  upon  the  bloody  battlefield,  in 
the  market  place,  in  school,  and  college,  and 
cathedral,  and  again  the  message  comes:  "And 
I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  myself."  And  having  looked,  let  us 
follow. 


V 

Life  at  Its  Best 

"Above  Him  stood  the  seraphim;  each  one  had  six  wings; 
with  twain  he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain  he  covered 
his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly." — Isaiah  6 : 2, 

THIS  is  an  inspired  poet's  description  of  life 
at  its  best.  It  is  a  prophet's  way  of  de- 
scribing the  ideal  life.  It  is  an  inspired 
vision  of  what  human  life  ought  to  be.  It  is  a 
vision  granted  centuries  ago  to  a  young  man  on 
the  threshold  of  his  life  work  who  was  question- 
ing his  own  heart  accordingly.  The  symbolism  is 
very  simple  and  the  meaning  of  the  vision  very 
obvious.  The  seraphim  are  human  symbols. 
They  are  ideal  representatives  of  redeemed  hu- 
manity. They  have  eyes  that  see,  feet  that  walk, 
lips  that  speak,  hearts  that  hope  and  aspire,  and 
souls  that  worship  in  the  presence  of  Deity. 

They  are  symbols  of  stupendous  strength, 
representatives  of  the  vital  forces  of  life  and  na- 
ture that  have  been  matured  and  perfected  in  the 
presence  of  God,  for  although  we  do  not  meet 
with  the  symbolism  elsewhere  in  Scripture  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  they  are  meant  to  represent 
*'  human  figures  expressing  the  idea  of  ardent 
devotion  to  God."  They  represent  humanity  as 
it  ought  to  be.    They  are  the  symbols  of  a  per- 

57 


58 


Life  at  Its  Best 


fected  life,  of  life  as  we  know  it  brought  to  its 
supreme  consecration. 

The  outstanding  revelation  of  the  vision  is  the 
suggestion  of  life — life  that  is  abundant,  empha- 
sized life,  superlative  life.  It  is  life  clothed  with 
energy  and  power  and  ministry.  In  a  word,  it  is 
winged  life.  It  is  life  that  not  only  sees  and 
speaks  and  moves,  but  life  that  flies.  It  has 
wings.  The  Greeks  sought  through  the  same 
symbolism  to  represent  the  life  of  conquering 
youth  and  presented  their  Winged  Victory  with 
its  laurel  crown  and  its  fine  physique,  clothed 
with  wings.  But  the  Hebrew  symbol  excels  the 
Greek  and  forces  us  to  conceive  the  impossible; 
for  humanity  is  gloriously  powerful,  its  life  radi- 
ant with  strength  and  clothed  with  a  three-fold 
pair  of  wings  which  represent  energy  and  life 
at  its  highest. 

This  then  is  the  reality  that  lies  behind  the 
imagery,  the  substance  that  lies  behind  the  sym- 
bolism. Life  is  meant  to  be  perfected  and  is 
perfected  only  in  the  presence  of  God.  Only  as 
life  is  God-inspired  and  God-motived  does  it 
come  to  its  best.  Like  a  tree  that  becomes  a 
dwarf  in  a  foreign  atmosphere,  so  does  life,  lived 
in  an  atmosphere  in  which  the  perfume  of  prayer 
and  worship  are  absent,  become  mean  and  un- 
worthy and  fails  to  reach  its  best.  In  the  pres- 
ence of  God  the  soul  comes  to  its  own.  In  His 
presence  is  fulness  of  joy  and  at  His  right  hand 
pleasures  forevermore.  Wherever  in  the  Scrip- 
tures we  meet  with  human  life  at  its  best  there 
is  set  before  us  a  fulness,  a  largeness  and  a  rich- 
ness which  startles  and  surprises  us.     There  is 


Life  at  Its  Best  59 

an  abounding  hope,  a  richness,  a  liberty  and  a 
fulness  about  all  true  life.  The  Jews  had  a  tradi- 
tion that  Ezekiel,  the  prophet,  raised  people  from 
the  dead,  but  they  always  carried  about  with 
them  the  anaemic  pallor  of  death  as  if  they  were 
not  quite  emancipated  from  their  former  bond- 
age. Jesus  came  to  give  life  and  to  give  it  more 
abundantly.  With  Him  religion  and  life  afe 
synonymous  terms.  Jesus  came,  filled  with  all 
the  fulness  of  God,  that  we  too  might  come  to 
the  stature  of  perfect  men  in  Him,  and  that  He 
might  present  us  without  spot,  perfected  in  the 
presence  of  His  Father.  And  what  is  revealed  in 
Scripture  can  be  discovered  in  the  experience  of 
those  who  have  followed  on  to  know  the  truth. 
The  hymns  of  the  Christian  Church  breathe  a 
spirit  of  largeness  which  calls  for  wings  of  faith. 
Some  one  has  said  that  our  fathers  used  to  sit 
on  benches  that  had  no  backs  and  sing  "  Onward 
Christian  Soldiers,"  but  that  we,  their  children, 
sit  in  cushioned  pews  and  sing  "  Art  thou  weary, 
art  thou  languid?"  Take  your  hymn  book, 
which  crystallizes  the  Christain  experience  of  all 
the  centuries,  and  hear  the  ringing  challenge : 


"  Rise,  my  soul,  and  stretch  thy  wings, 
Thy  better  portion  trace : 
Rise  from  transitory  things, 
Toward  heaven,  thy  native  place." 


There  is  something  there  that  calls  for  a  holy  dis- 
satisfaction and  a  sacred  discontent.  It  is  like 
hearing  the  voice  of  Jesus  saying,  "  Friend,  come 
up  higher." 


6o  Life  at  Its  Best 

"  Awake,  my  soul,  stretch  every  nerve, 
And  press  with  vigor  on." 

Here  we  have  the  very  symbolism  with  which 
we  are  deahng  in  the  text.  It  is  Ufe  clothed  with 
wings — wings  that  are  paired  in  a  holy  trinity. 
Can  we  discover  the  secret  where  lies  our 
strength,  and  find  the  path  over  which  we  may 
travel  to  the  throne?    I  think  we  can. 


I 

"  With   Twain  He  Covered  His  Face " 

The  first  mark  of  life  at  its  best  is  the  spirit  of 
reverence.  It  confesses  that  there  are  some 
things  that  it  does  not  and  some  things  that  it 
cannot  see.  Life  at  its  best  possesses  a  compel- 
ling spirit  of  reverence.  It  confesses  to  the  fact 
of  mystery  and  acknowledges  the  need  of  a  quiet 
heart  and  a  reverent  spirit.  Beyond  what  we 
know  is  the  unknowable.  Beyond  what  we  hear 
in  the  holy  ministry  of  music  is  the  upper  har- 
mony that  we  cannot  hear.  Beyond  what  we  see, 
lies  the  undreamed  beauty  which  is  hidden  from 
our  eyes.  Our  eyes  are  holden  that  we  cannot 
see  it.  Beyond  what  we  think  and  imagine  is 
the  unthinkable.  ''  Eye  hath  not  seen,  ear  hath 
not  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart 
of  man  to  conceive  the  things  which  God  hath 
prepared  for  them  that  love  Him."  Life  at  its 
best  understands  that  every  path  in  time  leads 
out  into  eternity.  The  scientist  bows  his  head  at 
the  unfolding  of  a  flower.  Thomas  Huxley  gives 
it  to  us  in  a  parable.    He  tells  us  that  as  know!- 


Life  at  Its  Best  6i 

edge  widens  the  shadows  deepen — just  as  a  light 
that  glows  and  burns  in  brilUancy  casts  a  deeper 
and  a  darker  shadow  because  of  its  luminous 
brightness.  To  grow  in  reverence  as  one  grows 
in  knowledge  is  the  secret  of  a  strong  life.  The 
musician  trembles  as  he  hears  the  harmony  he 
cannot  follow.  The  poet  worships  in  the  temple 
of  humanity  and  wonders  if,  perchance,  the 
voices  that  he  hears  may  be  God's  voice.  To 
him  "  the  meanest  flower  that  blows  brings 
thoughts  that  often  lie  too  deep  for  tears,"  and 
the  thunder,  which  for  others  is  ruled  by  law,  is 
still  to  him  the  voice  of  Deity,  for  "  if  He  thun- 
der by  law,  the  thunder  is  yet  His  voice." 

Whenever  you  find  life  at  its  best  you  will 
always  discover  this  fine  spirit  of  reverence.  You 
will  behold  life  covering  its  face  with  its  wings 
and  crying:  ''Holy,  Holy,  Holy  is  the  Lord  of 
hosts ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  His  glory."  You 
will  find  it  saying,  even  in  solitude  and  in  the 
desert,  *'  Take  off  thy  shoes  from  off  thy  feet,  for 
the  place  whereon  thou  standest  is  holy  ground." 
And  wherever  you  find  life  at  its  lowest  you  will 
miss  this  consecrating  quality.  You  will  dis- 
cover a  boastful  knowledge,  an  irreverent  and 
unholy  conceit.  You  will  find  that  there  is  no 
hush  of  heart,  no  bowing  of  the  head,  no  spirit  of 
wonder  and  of  worship,  no  sense  of  the  sacred- 
ness  of  life,  which  is  the  expression  of  reverence 
and  the  recognition  of  the  presence  of  Deity. 

Without  being  pessimistic — and  I  am  the  last 
one  to  give  expression  to  a  word  of  pessimism — 
one  fears  that  a  spirit  of  humble  reverence  is 
the  missing  note  in  the  life  of  many  of  our  young 


62  Life  at  Its  Best 

people  today.  The  temptation  is  upon  all  young 
life  today,  and  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me 
when  I  say  that  there  is  little  sacred  in  the 
thought  and  life,  in  the  speech  and  conduct  of 
many  of  our  young  men.  Everything  is  so  secu- 
lar. The  Church  is  subject  to  criticism  and  if  it 
is  reverent  criticism  we  ought  not  to  complain, 
but  if  it  is  superficial  and  cynical  it  eats  like  a 
canker  into  the  heart  of  him  who  speaks  in 
thoughtlessness.  The  Sabbath  is  no  longer  a 
day  set  apart,  a  day  that  is  made  for  man,  in  the 
sacred  silence  of  its  restful  hours  to  discover  the 
truth  and  the  reality  of  life.  The  home  is  an 
open  door  to  the  street;  literature  is  full  of  the 
world  spirit  and  the  sublimest  music  has  lost  the 
sense  of  the  sacred  and  has  become  for  many  a 
common  thing.  You  remember  how  Words- 
worth felt  about  it  when  he  said,  *'  The  world  is 
too  much  with  us,"  suggesting  that  with  our 
knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  its  laws  and  ways 
of  working  we  have  lost  the  sense  of  awe  and 
mystery  that  was  possessed  by  the  pagan  peo- 
ple of  long  ago,  who  saw  gods  and  goddesses 
rising  out  of  the  water  and  crowning  the  crest 
of  every  hill,  making  their  homes  in  every  bower 
of  beauty — and  Wordsworth  exclaimed,  as  he 
thought  of  the  secularizing  spirit  of  his  age,  to 
which  there  was  nothing  sacred  and  out  of 
which  the  sense  of  mystery  had  gone: 

"  It  moves  us  not — Great  God !     I'd  rather  be 

A  Pagan  suckled  in  a  creed  outworn ; 
So  might  I,  standing  on  this  pleasant  lea, 

Have  glimpses  that  would  make  me  less  forlorn ; 
Have  sight  of  Proteus  rising  from  the  sea; 

Or  hear  old  Triton  blow  his  wreathed  horn." 


Life  at  Its  Best  63 

We  of  today  feel  the  truth  of  the  poet's  con- 
demnation. But  one  does  not  need  to  be  a 
pagan  to  find  reverence  in  superstition.  It  is  re- 
quired of  us  to  walk  humbly  before  God,  and  I 
think  one  must  be  very  callous  if  he  is  not  filled 
with  a  sense  of  reverence  and  of  a  quiet  heart 
in  these  strange  days  through  which  we  are 
passing.  These  are  days  surely  when  questions 
rise  in  our  hearts  for  which  we  have  no  an- 
swers. We  think  of  the  young  men  who  have 
gone  forth  by  hundreds  and  by  thousands  to  do 
battle  for  home  and  country,  leaving  behind 
them  their  loved  ones  and  their  life's  work  and 
the  glowing  dreams  of  their  youth,  to  surren- 
der, voluntarily,  all  that  they  have  on  the  altar 
of  their  country's  need.  Our  hearts  are  hushed 
at  the  thought  of  their  sacrifice.  We  are  si- 
lenced and  overwhelmed  when  we  try  to  con- 
ceive the  reality  of  those  hidden  and  unseen 
powers  of  evil  which  have  been  let  loose  upon 
the  world  in  these  days  of  hope  and  progress, 
and  which  try  to  turn  time  back  into  the  dark 
dead  days  of  the  past.  One  must  be  very  callous 
if  he  can  pass  through  all  these  thought-provok- 
ing experiences  and  not  be  possessed  of  a  quiet 
and  worshipful  and  reverent  heart.  And  the 
young  men  of  our  day  and  our  land  must  surely 
hear  the  call  to  something  else  than  a  life  of 
pleasure,  when  the  youth  of  this  and  other  lands 
are  going  forth  to  do  and  to  die  for  that  which 
they  feel  is  the  best.  No  life  can  come  to  its 
own  without  the  spirit  of  reverence. 


64  Life  at  Its  Best 

II 

"  With  Twain  He  Covered  His  Feet " 

The  second  note  in  the  ideal  Hfe  is  the  spirit  of 
humility.  With  twain  he  covered  his  feet.  If 
his  face  was  covered  so  that  he  might  not  see,  his 
feet  were  covered  with  his  wings  so  that  he 
might  not  be  seen.  Wherever  there  is  reverence 
in  regard  to  Hfe,  there  is  also  a  spirit  of  humility 
in  relation  to  self.  I  am  not  wholly  pleased  with 
this  word  "  humility."  Humility  is  a  word  that 
is  too  quiescent,  too  passive,  too  negative.  It  is 
a  winged  word  we  need.  Meekness  is  a  better 
word,  and  yet  that  too  has  a  suggestion  of  weak- 
ness and  lacks  the  positive  element  which  is  sug- 
gested by  the  symbolism.  The  idea  is  of  one 
hiding  himself  behind  his  work,  behind  what  he  is 
doing,  behind  the  wings  that  move  and  carry 
him  forward.  The  idea  is  suggested  by  the 
phrase — '*  keeping  in  the  background."  It  is  the 
thrusting  forward  into  the  limelight  the  cause 
for  which  we  labour  and  pray,  and  the  sinking 
of  one's  self  in  order  that  the  mission  of  one's 
life  may  come  to  its  fruition.  It  is  a  God-like 
quality.  "  Verily,  Thou  art  a  God  that  hidest 
Thyself."  You  never  see  God.  He  is  ever  hid- 
ing Himself  behind  His  work.  He  never  shows 
His  face  nor  reveals  His  hand,  and  yet  He  doeth 
mighty  things  and  heaven  and  earth  are  full  of 
the  majesty  of  His  glory.  Verily,  He  is  a  God 
that  hideth  Himself.  And  this  is  true  of  all  great 
life.  It  is  life  that  hides  itself  behind  its  work. 
We  are  told  that  Michael  Angelo  worked  with  a 


Life  at  Its  Best  65 

little  lamp  placed  upon  his  head  like  a  miner's 
lamp,  so  as  to  avoid  the  shadow  of  himself  fall- 
ing upon  his  work.  It  is  the  shadow  of  self  that 
spoils.  It  is  the  thrusting  of  one's  self,  with  our 
personal  claims  and  ambitions,  into  the  fore- 
ground and  into  the  limelight  that  keeps  us  from 
the  best. 

All  great  life  is  self-concealing.  Think  of  the 
great  and  wonderful  life  of  Shakespeare  and  yet 
how  little  you  know  about  him,  and  how  success- 
fully he  hid  himself  behind  the  work  and  the 
mission  of  his  life.  Great  life  everywhere  is  will- 
ing to  forget  itself — to  forget  itself,  as  Wendell 
Phillips  has  said,  into  immortality;  or,  as  Jesus 
has  said,  to  lose  itself  in  order  to  find  itself. 
When  John  the  Baptist  came  out  of  the  wilder- 
ness men  knew  that  a  great  man  had  appeared, 
but  when  they  sought  to  discover  his  name  and 
to  read  his  pedigree,  he  brushed  them  aside,  say- 
ing, **  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness." It  is  not  the  messenger,  but  the  message 
that  is  in  the  spotlight  of  his  vision.  "  Repent," 
he  says,  ''  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand." 
As  the  Apostle  Paul  thinks  of  his  own  people  and 
his  own  country  his  heart  takes  fire  as  he  con- 
siders how  much  they  are  losing  and  he  cries  out 
to  God  for  their  salvation,  saying  that  he  is  will- 
ing that  he  himself  should  be  anathema  if  he 
could  but  realize  the  hope  of  his  heart  in  their 
salvation.  All  great  life  has  been  self-concealed. 
Among  the  greatest  of  men,  head  and  shoulders 
above  the  crowd,  was  Abraham  Lincoln,  and 
never  did  a  man  so  hide  himself  and  conceal  him- 
self as  did  that  great  statesman,  who  said  that 


66  Life  at  Its  Best 

he  was  willing  to  step  aside  and  let  another  lead 
the  nation  to  victory  if  that  ''  other  man  "  could 
be  found.  We  think  of  David  Livingstone,  hid- 
ing himself  behind  the  mighty  problem  of  Dark- 
est Africa,  dying  upon  his  knees  in  prayer  that 
God  would  lift  Africa  out  of  the  night  of  her 
desolation  and  calling  down  blessings  upon  any 
man  and  every  man — American,  Englishman  or 
Turk — who  would  carry  on  his  work  to  its  com- 
pletion and  heal  the  open  sore  of  the  world. 
Life  at  its  best  hides  itself. 

When  Rembrandt  painted  his  great  picture 
"The  Night  Watch,"  the  leaders  of  the  city 
pressed  forward  to  be  in  the  foreground,  but  he 
painted  them  ideally,  and  when  the  picture  was 
finished  and  they  failed  to  discover  themselves, 
they  were  disappointed  and  dissatisfied.  That  is 
the  mistake  we  all  make.  That  is  the  demand 
so  frequently  made  which  spoils  and  mars  our 
best  work.  Seekest  thou  great  things  for  thy- 
self? Seek  them  not.  He  that  exalteth  himself 
shall  be  abased  and  he  that  humbleth  himself 
shall  be  exalted.  One  of  the  finest  things  that  is 
spoken  in  prophecy  of  Jesus  is  that  He  did  His 
great  work  quietly — "  He  shall  not  strive  nor 
cry,  neither  shall  His  voice  be  heard  in  the 
street." 

Our  work  ought  to  be  of  vastly  more  impor- 
tance than  our  own  personal  success  and  those 
who  would  come  to  their  crowning  must  follow 
the  King,  regardless  of  appreciation  or  personal 
comfort 


Life  at  Its  Best  67 

ni 

*'  With  Twain  He  Did  Fly  " 

The  third  quality  in  the  life  at  its  best  is  the 
spirit  of  service.  Wings  are  for  ministry,  for 
service,  for  missionary  endeavour,  and  this  three- 
fold pair  of  v^ings  all  find  their  supreme  value 
here.  With  twain  he  did  fly.  Life  at  its  best  is 
v^inged  life.  It  is  angelic  life.  It  is  life  that  is 
sent  forth  to  minister  unto  those  who  shall  be 
the  heirs  of  salvation.  If  you  will  think  of  it 
there  are  just  two  classes  of  people  in  the  world. 
There  are  people  who  are  served  and  people  who 
serve — people  who  are  ministered  unto  and  peo- 
ple who  minister  and  who  give  their  lives  for 
others.  Let  me  put  it  in  the  terms  of  the  school- 
room with  which  you  are  familiar:  There  are 
people  who  carry  the  plus  sign  and  people  who 
carry  the  minus  sign.  There  are  young  men  who 
have  the  plus  sign,  who  make  a  contribution  to 
life  and  add  something  to  its  happiness  and 
sweetness  and  value;  young  men  who  contribute 
purity  and  truth  and  a  real  service  in  their 
homes,  to  those  who  love  them  and  to  their 
age;  young  men  who  are  giving  themselves, 
their  time  and  their  talent  to  make  life  a 
little  better  and  a  little  sweeter  for  those  about 
them.  ^They  have  the  plus  sign,  because  they 
give  and  give  and  give,  like  God,  who  gave 
Himself. 

On  the  other  hand  there  are  young  men  who 
carry  the  minus  sign ;  young  men  who,  instead  of 
contributing  and  adding  to  life,  subtract  and  take 


68  Life  at  Its  Best 

away  from  it.  They  seem  to  have  come  into  the 
world  to  be  ministered  unto,  to  get  and  to  grasp 
instead  of  to  give  and  to  contribute;  young  men 
by  the  scores  who  take  away  from  Hfe,  who  sub- 
tract from  the  happiness  and  good  cheer  of  the 
world;  who  take  something  out  of  their  homes 
and  who  add  nothing;  who  take  the  smile  of 
happiness  and  the  touch  of  youth  out  of  their 
mothers'  face,  who  take  the  spring  out  of  their 
fathers'  step  and  who  leave  their  homes  and 
their  loved  ones  poorer  and  sadder  because  of 
their  having  lived.  Life  at  its  best  is  unselfish 
— it  is  the  Christ-like  life.  It  is  life  that  follows 
the  Master  when  He  said,  ''  I  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  to  give  my 
life   a   ransom   for   many." 

The  great  cry  of  heaven  and  earth  is  this: 
"  Who  will  go?  "  That  is  the  cry  that  has  been 
heard  through  all  the  centuries.  God  and  the 
angels  wait  for  a  man  to  answer.  It  is  God's 
way  to  work  through  men.  It  is  man's  way  to 
work  through  methods.  God  does  not  wait  on 
methods.  He  waits  on  men.  It  is  man's  way  to 
work  through  machinery.  It  is  God's  way  to 
work  through  individuals.  God  does  not  trust 
to  policies  and  to  politics  but  to  persons,  and 
through  all  the  days  and  through  all  the  nights, 
if  we  have  ears  to  hear,  we  will  discover  this 
same  cry  which  awoke  this  young  man  of  the 
upper  classes  and  bade  him  respond  to  that  call. 
God  waits  on  men.  He  can  do  nothing  without 
men.  It  is  like  President  Wilson  crying  in  the 
night  of  Mexico's  grief  for  a  man — just  one  man 
on  whom  he  can  pin  his  faith  and  to  whom  he 


Life  at  Its  Best  69 

can  give  the  full  measure  of  his  confidence.  Just 
as  the  mysterious  wireless  waits  for  the  right 
atmospheric  conditions  and  for  the  right  attuning 
of  each  receptive  instrument  before  it  can  speak, 
and  then,  when  the  conditions  are  perfected,  it 
thrills  with  intelligence.  So  God  waits.  He  has 
angels  and  the  heavenly  hosts  in  His  presence, 
but  He  waits  for  a  man.  To  prophets  and  mes- 
sengers He  still  says,  ^'  Run  you  to  and  fro 
through  the  streets  of  the  city  and  see  now  and 
know  and  seek  in  the  broad  places  thereof,  if 
ye  can  find  a  man."  This  is  the  timeless  search 
of  our  God.  He  is  set  for  the  discovery  of  men 
through  whom  He  can  speak  and  through  whom 
He  can  work,  and  the  cry  is  heard  today  as  it 
was  heard  and  answered  by  this  young  man  cen- 
turies ago,  ''  Who  will  go?  " 

Isaiah  stood  on  the  threshold  of  his  life  work, 
with  youth  and  ambition  and  talent  and  high 
purpose  in  his  possession,  and,  hearing  all  and 
seeing  all,  he  stood  upon  his  feet  and  cried, 
"Here  am  I;  send  me."  And  God  sent  him. 
God  sent  that  young  man,  single-handed  and 
alone,  out  into  the  nation  until  his  voice  was 
heard  in  the  lanes  and  streets  of  his  native  land 
and  men  and  women  looked  up  from  their  selfish 
pleasure,  saw  him  and  heard  his  message  and  fol- 
lowed along  the  path  of  service  and  duty  and 
worship.  It  is  wonderful  what  God  can  do 
through  one  young  man,  and  I  am  praying  as  I 
preach  that  some  one  of  you  will  make  this  same 
response  to  the  call  which  is  as  personal  for  you 
as  it  was  for  Isaiah  and  say,  "  Here  I  am;  send 
me!" 


70  Life  at  Its  Best 

These  are  great  days  through  which  we  are 
living — great  days,  the  greatest  days  the  world 
has  ever  seen.  All  days  are  great  days  and 
every  age  has  its  crisis  and  its  hill-crest.  But 
these  are  critical  days  indeed,  and  the  days 
before  us  are  full  of  trembling  hope  and  fear. 
There  is  darkness,  but  there  is  also  dawn  on  the 
horizon  of  our  generation.  Speaking  the  other 
day  with  a  man  who  knows  this  country  through 
and  through  and  who  has  a  statesman's  vision 
of  the  days  that  are  now  with  us,  and  of  the  days 
that  are  to  come,  he  said  to  me  in  words  charged 
with  the  spirit  of  deep  conviction,  that  the  next 
fifteen  years  in  the  life  of  our  people  would  be 
the  determining  years  of  our  national  life.  He 
may  be  right  or  he  may  be  wrong,  but  the  next 
fifteen  years  will  be  years  of  high  success  or 
ignominious  failure,  and  those  fifteen  years  are 
beckoning  the  young  men  to  whom  I  speak  to- 
day. Some  of  us  know  what  the  past  fifteen 
years  have  been  for  we  have  lived  through  them. 
They  have  been  great  years,  but  they  have  been 
years  when  the  tides  of  truth  have  been  beating 
on  strange  shores.  They  have  been  years  that 
have  been  filled  with  criticism  and  contention. 
I  am  firmly  convinced  that  the  fifteen  years 
which  are  before  us  are  to  be  years  of  construc- 
tion and  not  of  criticism;  when  positive  contribu- 
tion shall  be  made  to  the  building  up  of  the  King- 
dom of  God  in  the  life  of  our  people.  Truly 
these  are  great  days,  and  again  as  of  old,  our 
Lord  is  passing  along  the  path  of  life  and  the 
question  we  are  asking  of  Him  is,  '*  Whither 
goest  Thou?  "  and  we  know  that  His  answer  is 


Life  at  Its  Best  71 

ever  the  same.    He  is  always  bearing  His  cross, 
going  forth  to  serve. 

"  Where  the  many  toil  and  suffer 

There  am  I  among  my  own ; 
Where  the  tired  workmen  sleepeth  , 

There  am  I  with  thee  alone. 
I,  the  Peace  that  passeth  knowledge, 

Dwell  amid  the  toil  and  strife, 
I,  the  Bread  of  heaven,  am  broken 

In  the  sacrament  of  life. 
Nevermore  thou  needest  seek  me, 

I  am  with  thee  everywhere ; 
Raise  the  stone  and  thou  shalt  find  Me, 

Cleave  the  wood  and  I  am  there." 

And  to  each  of  us,  in  the  silence  of  our  own 
hearts,  He  asks,  *'  Who  will  go  for  us?  "  and  in 
the  silence  of  our  spirits  we  too  will  say,  "  Here 
am  I." 

This  is  life  at  its  best,  life  that  is  filled  with 
reverence,  life  that  is  self-hiding,  life  that  is 
clothed  for  service.  It  is  the  Christ-life  and  he 
that  followeth  Him  shall  never  be  put  to  shame. 


VI 

In  Touch  with  Reality 

"And  the  Philistines  took  the  ark  of  God  and  brought  it 
into  the  house  of  Dagon  and  set  it  by  Dagon.  And  when 
they  of  Ashdod  arose  early  on  the  morrow,  behold,  Dagon 
was  fallen  upon  his  face  to  the  ground  before  the  ark  of 
Jehovah.  And  they  took  Dagon  and  set  him  in  his  place 
again.  And  when  they  arose  early  on  the  morrow  morning, 
behold,  Dagon  was  fallen  upon  his  face  to  the  ground  be- 
fore the  ark  of  Jehovah;  and  the  head  of  Dagon  and  both 
the  palms  of  his  hands,  lay  cut  off  upon  the  threshold;  only 
the  stump  of  Dagon  was  left  to  him." — I  Samuel  5 :  2-4. 

DAGON  was  a  man-made  god.  He  was 
unreal.  He  represented  nothing — noth- 
ing except  the  idle  speculations  of  those 
who  formed  and  fashioned  him.  It  was  of  such 
as  he  that  the  Psalmist  was  speaking  when  he 
said  he  had  a  mouth  but  spake  not;  eyes  had  he 
but  he  saw  not;  he  had  ears  but  he  heard  not; 
hands  had  he  but  he  handled  not;  feet  had  he  but 
they  walked  not.  He  did  nothing.  He  said 
nothing.  He  was  nothing.  They  that  made  him 
were  like  unto  him,  for  when  men  make  gods 
after  their  own  image  these  same  man-made  gods 
have  a  way  of  changing  the  men  that  made  them 
into  their  image. 

The  Ark  was  a  man-made  symbol.  It  was 
man-made  but  it  was  God-given.  It  was  in  touch 
with  reality.  It  grew  out  of  the  religious  experi- 
ence of  the  national  life  of  the  children  of  Israel. 

72 


In  Touch  with  Reality  73 

It  embodied  their  discoveries  concerning  God 
and  God's  revelation  to  them.  It  was  a  symbol 
of  the  living  God,  and  spoke  forth  a  real  message 
to  those  who  had  ears  to  hear.  You  will  remem- 
ber what  was  contained  within  that  secret  holy 
place.  The  Ark  contained  the  tables  of  stone  on 
which  were  engraven  the  ten  commandments, 
the  revelation  of  God's  eternal  truth  and  the 
presentation  of  that  truth  to  men.  That  truth 
was  a  living  and  an  abiding  reality.  It  contained 
also  the  rod  that  had  budded  in  the  hands  of  the 
messenger  of  the  Most  High.  The  rod  was  a 
symbol  of  the  eternal  will  and  law  of  God  that  tri- 
umphed over  oppression  and  slavery  and  deter- 
mined the  destiny  of  men  and  nations.  Beside 
these  two  symbols  it  contained  the  pot  of  manna 
which  represented  the  living  and  abiding  pres- 
ence of  the  never-failing  and  ever-present  God. 
The  Ark  of  the  Covenant  grew  out  of  a  tremen- 
dous religious  experience. 

The  people  who  worshipped  Dagon  and  the 
people  who  trusted  Jehovah  as  He  was  revealed 
through  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  were  at  war. 
They  were  engaged  in  the  ghastly  business  of 
those  dark  days.  They  were  men  of  different 
ideals,  different  purposes  and  different  religions. 
The  Philistines  had  Dagon;  the  Israelites  had  the 
Ark  of  the  Covenant.  They  fought  each  other 
and  Israel  was  defeated,  leaving  four  thousand 
dead  upon  the  field  of  battle.  That  defeat  re- 
vealed the  moral  cowardice  and  national  weak- 
ness of  the  people,  and  when  they  rallied  they 
rallied  around  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant,  the  sym- 
bol of  the  presence  and  the  truth  of  God  and 


74  In  Touch  with  Reality 

made  of  it  a  moral  makeshift.  They  carried  it 
into  the  battle  only  to  be  again  routed  with  fear- 
ful slaughter.  They  did  not  know  that  the  reality 
had  gone  out  of  the  symbol  and  that  it  had  be- 
come for  them  another  idol,  another  fetish, 
another  magic-working  mystery.  There  is  no 
power  in  a  symbol  when  the  reality  is  gone.  If 
faith  and  hope  and  love  and  prayer  have  died  out 
of  your  life,  the  sacrament  of  bread  and  wine,  the 
sublimest  of  all  symbols,  will  be  a  devastating 
mockery  to  your  soul.  If  the  dreams  and  visions 
of  the  fathers  who  fought  and  fell  for  the  cause 
of  liberty  and  human  freedom  no  longer  appeal 
to  us,  their  children,  then  the  sacred  symbol  of 
the  flag,  for  which  they  gave  in  sacrifice  the  full 
measure  of  their  devotion,  is  nothing  but  a  piece 
of  coloured  cloth.  A  religion  that  trusts  in  forms 
and  rituals  and  neglects  the  inner  truth  of  the 
heart  and  the  living  power  of  the  ever-present 
God  is  void  and  empty  and  has  lost  touch  with 
reality. 

Truth,  however,  must  be  vindicated.  If  the 
Israelites  fail  God,  then  deliverance  will  arise 
from  another  place.  Rejoicing  over  their  vic- 
tory the  Philistines  carried  the  Ark  into  the  tem- 
ple of  Dagon  and  in  the  night  the  idol  fell  from 
its  throne.  It  is  one  thing  to  conquer  a  false 
people;  it  is  another  thing  to  conquer  truth. 
Truth  crushed  to  earth  will  rise  again.  God  will 
vindicate  Himself,  and  in  the  silence  of  that 
heathen  temple  the  mighty  working  of  His 
power. was  revealed.  We  are  not  interested  in 
the  event  so  much  as  in  the  principles  which  it 
shadows  forth.     It  is  a  parable  which  embodies 


In  Touch  with  Reality  75 

principles  which  are  as  true  today  as  they  were 
centuries  ago.  Let  me  point  out  two  or  three 
of  those  principles  which  are  written  deep  into 
this  truth-revealing  story. 


In  the  first  place,  God's  truth  cannot  he  com- 
promised. God's  truth,  as  it  was  embodied  in  the 
revelation  of  the  ten  commandments  was  for 
Israel  the  word  of  life.  The  Ark  of  the  Covenant 
contained  that  revealed  law  of  God  and  that  law 
is  supreme.  There  is  a  certain  strange  intolerance 
about  it.  We  do  not  like  the  word  intolerance, 
but  all  truth  possesses  a  certain  intolerance.  The 
Philistines  thought  it  quite  normal  to  place  the 
symbol  of  Jehovah  beside  their  Dagon.  Why 
not?  It  was  just  another  idol,  another  national 
deity,  and  they  would  make  room  for  it  in  their 
own  temple,  and  thus,  with  the  addition  of  a  new 
god,  find  new  dominion.  Why  not?  The  Ro- 
mans built  their  pantheon,  their  temple  in  which 
all  the  gods  of  their  conquered  provinces  found 
a  home.  They  had  a  place  for  Jupiter  and  Mars, 
and  in  the  last  days  for  Jesus  of  Nazareth.  They 
had  no  objection  to  giving  honour  to  all  the  gods. 
And  in  our  day  there  are  many  who  still  believe 
in  such  an  international  pantheon.  Why  not? 
Mohammed  and  Buddha  and  Confucius  are 
standing  with  outstretched  arms,  eager  and 
ready  to  welcome  Jesus  into  their  temple.  They 
will  use  our  hymn  books  and  our  prayers  and 
our  organizations  and  make  friends  with  us  in 
our  desire  to  reach  the  highest  and  the  holiest. 


76  In  Touch  with  Reality 

Mohammed  and  Christ  may  sit  on  the  same 
throne  in  the  East  for  both  are  prophets !  The 
rehgions  of  the  East  will  gladly  incorporate  what 
pleases  them,  and  share  their  place  and  their 
power  with  Him,  who  for  us  is  Lord  of  all. 

But  it  is  not  possible.  There  is  a  strange 
heroic  intolerance  and  severity  about  the  truth 
as  it  is  revealed  in  Jesus  Christ.  The  truth  of 
God  cannot  be  compromised.  It  is  supreme. 
There  is  not  room  on  the  throne  of  the  universe 
for  more  than  one  God.  You  cannot  arbitrate 
or  compromise  or  argue  about  the  ten  command- 
ments. They  are  not  to  be  arbitrated;  they  are 
to  be  obeyed.  There  is  this  same  strange  com- 
pulsion about  the  character  and  the  religion  of 
Jesus  Christ.  He  claims  to  be  a  King  and  be- 
fore Him  every  knee  shall  bow  and  every  tongue 
shall  confess  to  His  Lordship.  And  so  the  truth 
as  it  is  revealed  in  Him  is  imperialistic,  it  is  mili- 
tant, it  is  missionary.  You  cannot  be  a  Christian 
without  being  a  missionary-Christian,  for  after 
He  has  called  you  to  His  side  He  commands  you, 
"  Go  ye  into  all  the  world."  There  is  no  Chris- 
tianity that  is  not  missionary  and  no  truth  that 
has  not  a  certain  spirit  of  intolerance  about  it. 

We  read  in  Gibbon's  ''  Decline  and  Fall  of  the 
Roman  Empire  "  that  Alexander  Severus  built  a 
domestic  chapel  in  which  he  placed  the  statues 
of  Abraham,  of  Orpheus,  of  Apollonius  and  of 
Christ.  That  is  a  strange  but  nevertheless  com- 
mon circumstance.  We,  too,  have  our  domestic 
chapels  and  in  them  there  is  a  very  motley  array 
of  gods  and  we  forget  that  God  demands  the 
whole  heart.     Right  will  not  share  the  throne 


In  Touch  with  Reality  77 

with  wrong  and  God  will  not  consent  to  give 
His  glory  to  another.  He  is  a  jealous  God. 
"  Hear,  O  Israel !  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  God, 
and  thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all 
thy  heart  and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all  thy 
strength."  He  will  not  trust  Himself  to  a  divided 
heart.  Lebanon  with  all  its  cedars  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  burn,  that  He  may  be  provided  with  a 
sacrifice;  and  we  may  rest  assured  that  He  will 
not  be  satisfied  with  driftwood.  We  dare  not 
keep  back  part  of  the  price.  He  must  have  every- 
thing or  nothing.  No  dead  Dagon  can  share  the 
throne  with  the  living  God.  The  life  that  is 
crowded  with  blessing  is  ever  saying : 

"  Take  my  will  and  make  it  Thine, 
It  shall  be  no  longer  mine, 
Take  my  heart,  it  is  Thine  own, 
It  shall  be  Thy  royal  throne." 


II 

God's  will  cannot  he  subordinated.  The  Ark 
contained  also  the  wonder-working  rod  of  Aaron. 
The  law  of  God  as  it  was  symbolized  in  that  bud- 
ding rod  that  compelled  the  allegiance  of  the 
Egyptian  court,  is  a  supreme  law.  Men  cannot 
use  it  or  exploit  it  or  make  it  subservient  to  their 
own  wish  and  whim. 

When  the  people  of  Israel  carried  it  forth  to 
battle,  there  was  only  disaster  and  stupendous 
failure.  When  the  Philistines  carried  it  into  the 
presence  of  their  own  dead  deity  it  brought  con- 
fusion and  shame.  The  children  of  Israel  with 
their  corrupt  politics  and  the  overthrow  of  their 


78  In  Touch  with  Reality 

national  morality  had  turned  to  the  Ark  of  the 
Covenant,  the  symbol  of  purity  and  truth,  and 
had  forcibly  carried  it  into  the  battle.  They 
made  of  the  Ark  a  political  and  moral  makeshift, 
and  sought,  by  magic,  to  master  their  own  moral 
and  spiritual  delinquency.  And  they  failed. 
They  were  bound  to  fail.  You  cannot  bend 
God's  will  to  meet  yours;  you  must  surrender 
your  will  to  God.  You  cannot  manipulate  the 
power  of  God  for  your  own  selfish  purposes  any 
more  than  you  can  force  the  lightning  or  control 
the  currents  of  the  ocean.  The  will  of  God  is 
irresistible  and  His  purpose  is  inviolate.  There 
is  only  one  way  to  secure  His  help  and  that  is 
by  obedience.  We  control  nature  by  obeying  it. 
We  control  the  lightning  by  conforming  to  the 
laws  of  electricity,  and  the  power  of  God  becomes 
ours  when  we  surrender  ourselves  to  Him  and 
submit  ourselves  to  His  will.  We  cannot  force 
Him  nor  bribe  Him  nor  buy  Him  to  be  on  our 
side.  It  is  blasphemy  to  say  that  He  is  on  our 
side  if  we  are  on  the  wrong  side.  If  we  drag 
Him  into  the  battle,  the  battle  will  go  against  us. 
He  may  make  no  protest  but  to  the  froward. 
He  will  show  Himself  froward,  and  the  use  of  His 
name  will  be  nothing  but  pagan  idolatry  unless 
we  first  of  all  submit  ourselves,  our  plans  and  our 
policies  to  Him.  If  you  are  on  the  wrong  side  it 
will  not  help  you  to  carry  Him  into  the  battle. 

Spain  carried  Him  into  the  battle  with  her  so- 
called  Invincible  Armada,  in  order  to  force  a 
superstitious  faith  upon  a  liberty-loving  nation. 
And  God  swept  that  great  fleet  from  the  seas  and 
England  understood  that  it  was  not  her  little 


In  Touch  with  Reality  79 

fleet  or  her  great  seafaring  captains  that  gained 
for  her  the  victory  for  upon  the  medal  that  was 
given  to  the  conquerors  there  was  engraven  the 
motto,  "  God  blew  upon  them  and  they  were 
scattered." 

Napoleon  carried  God  into  the  battle  with  his 
audacious  and  imperialistic  plan  and  with  six 
hundred  thousand  men,  the  finest  in  Europe,  he 
invaded  Russia  and  then  retreated,  harassed  on 
every  hand  by  little  bands  of  the  enemy,  leaving 
behind  him  in  the  cold  and  the  storm  of  the  great 
frost  king,  four  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  men. 
And  Napoleon  understood  that  it  was  not  the 
Russians  that  mastered  and  conquered  and  swept 
him  from  the  field,  for  he  himself  said,  '*  God 
Almighty  has  been  too  much  for  me." 

We  have  seen  the  same  thing  in  our  own 
land.  Fifty  odd  years  ago  men  and  women  and 
churches  carried  God  into  the  battle  in  defence  of 
human  slavery  and  it  was  not  because  of  supe- 
riority in  men  or  in  heroism  that  slavery  was 
forever  driven  from  the  land,  but  because  free- 
dom and  slavery,  truth  and  error,  light  and 
darkness  cannot  dwell  together  in  the  same  tem- 
ple of  humanity. 

Everything  in  nature  and  in  history,  the  very 
forces  of  earth  and  air  and  sea,  are  part  and 
parcel  of  the  will  and  the  law  of  God.  No  man 
can  break  that  law  of  God.  It  is  supreme.  It  is 
unbreakable.  Men  and  nations  are  broken  upon 
the  law  but  the  law  itself  cannot  be  broken.  That 
law  is  either  the  chief  cornerstone  or  it  is  the 
stone  that  grinds  men  to  powder.  The  very 
stars  in  their  courses  fought  against  Sisera,  and 


8o  In  Touch  with  Reality 

when  Israel  is  right  and  faithful  and  true,  even 
though  twenty  years  go  by  she  will  come  back 
again  to  this  same  battlefield  and  smite  this 
same  enemy  hip  and  thigh,  and  erect  there 
an  immortal  moral  monument  and  call  it  Ebe- 
nezer,  saying,  "  Hitherto — even  in  failure,  as  now 
in  success — hath  the  Lord  helped  us."  God's 
will,  even  though  it  tarries,  ultimately  conquers. 
And  let  me  say  this  word  of  encouragement  in 
passing.  These  are  dark  and  tragic  days  through 
which  we  are  passing.  The  darkest  days  I  think 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  Days  that  bring  us 
heart  searching  and  raise  questions  in  our  minds 
for  which  there  seems  to  be  no  answer.  Let  us 
possess  our  souls  in  peace.  God's  will  and  God's 
law  are  supreme.  The  current  of  His  purpose 
flows  on  through  the  centuries.  It  is  irresistible 
and  the  men  and  the  nations  who  are  one  with 
Him  in  purpose  and  are  sailing  in  the  current  of 
His  will  cannot  fail.  Let  us  be  sure  of  this  and 
let  us  possess  our  souls  in  patience. 


Ill 

The  presence  of  God  cannot  he  avoided.  The 
presence  of  God  symbolized  in  the  manna  that 
was  hidden  away  in  the  Ark  of  the  covenant  is 
sufficient  for  every  need  of  life.  God  will  care 
for  His  own  even  though  He  works  a  moral 
miracle. 

One  may  think  that  He  can  be  avoided  and 
that  we  can  get  along  without  Him;  He  is  so 
quietly  silent.  Verily  He  is  a  God  who  hideth 
Himself.    What  we  see  of  Him  is  but  the  hiding 


In  Touch  with  Reality  8i 

of  His  glory.  The  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  a 
seed  sown  in  the  earth  which,  while  men  sleep  it 
groweth  up.  God's  working  is  like  the  wind 
which  bloweth  where  it  listeth,  no  one  knoweth 
whence  it  cometh  or  whither  it  goeth. 

Carried  into  the  temple  of  Dagon  the  Ark  of 
the  Covenant,  the  symbol  of  His  presence  utters 
no  protest,  but  is  quietly  submissive  and  seem- 
ingly subservient  to  the  will  of  the  enemy.  But 
in  the  silence  of  the  night  the  wondrous  miracle 
is  wrought,  and  in  the  morning  the  worshippers 
of  Dagon  find  their  god  prostrate  as  in  prayer 
before  the  symbol  of  Jehovah.  They  set  the  idol 
upon  its  pedestal  again  thinking  there  had  been 
an  accident,  but  that  night  the  unseen  power 
again  wrought  its  strange  work  and  in  the  morn- 
ing the  pagan  idol,  half-man,  half-fish,  lay  in 
ruins,  having  fallen  from  its  own  throne  and  the 
head  and  the  hands,  all  that  spoke  of  human  in- 
telligence and  power  were  broken  and  shattered 
and  only  the  fish-like  stump  of  the  dead  god,  a 
helpless,  hopeless,  inanimate  thing,  remained. 
In  fear  and  dread  they  sent  the  wonder-working 
symbol  of  Jehovah  out  of  their  temple  and  out  of 
their  land. 

Here  is  the  secret  of  truth  and  of  religious 
reality.  Truth  will  vindicate  itself  and  religious 
reality  will  demonstrate  itself  in  the  experience 
of  men  and  nations.  It  is  not  worth  while  de- 
nouncing unreality  and  error  and  religious 
heresy.  The  man  or  the  church  that  lives  in 
negatives  has  missed  the  path.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary sometimes  to  denounce  error  and  to  con- 
demn heresy  in  creed  and  in  conduct,  but  there 


82  In  Touch  with  Reality 

is  a  far  better  way,  a  way  that  is  lighted  up  for 
us  on  every  page  of  history.  It  is  the  way  of 
Jesus.  If  you  would  drive  out  the  darkness, 
Jesus  says,  "  Let  your  light  shine."  If  you  would 
give  the  lie  to  error,  Jesus  says,  '*  You  shall  know 
the  truth  and  the  truth  shall  make  you  free." 
This  is  what  Thomas  Chalmers  meant  by  ''  The 
Expulsive  Power  of  a  New  Affection."  This  is 
what  Paul  meant  when  he  called  upon  men  and 
nations  to  overcome  evil  with  good.  This  is 
what  Jesus  meant  when  He  stood  upon  the 
threshold  of  Calvary,  with  the  shadows  deepen- 
ing around  Him  and  the  darkness  crowding  in 
upon  Him,  in  the  midst  of  what  seemed  to  others 
the  triumphant  success  of  His  enemies  and  His 
own  pathetic  failure,  knowing  all  and  seeing  all, 
yet  lifting  His  eyes  to  the  high  hills  beyond  the 
horizon  of  the  vision  of  that  generation,  and  say- 
ing, "  And  I — and  I — if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the 
earth  will  draw  all  men  unto  myself."  He  is  the 
mighty  magnet,  the  truth,  the  way,  the  life. 
Bring  Him  into  the  temple  of  humanity,  and  be- 
fore Him  the  false  gods  will  tumble  from  their 
pedestals  and  fall  at  His  feet.  This  is  what  one 
of  our  Chinese  students  meant  when  he  said  to 
me  the  other  day,  "  I  cannot  any  longer  worship 
an  old  idol  stuck  up  in  a  corner,"  for  here  in  this 
Christian  land  he  had  heard  of  Christ  and  seen 
Him  in  the  lives  of  those  who  loved  Him,  and  the 
reality  of  the  religion  of  Jesus  made  impossible 
for  him  a  faith  in  the  unreality  of  heathen 
idolatry. 

And  this,  too,  is  the  secret  of  victory  in  our 
own  lives.   I  do  not  know  what  dead  Dagon  holds 


In  Touch  with  Reality  83 

sway  over  your  thoughts  and  imaginations.  I 
do  not  know  the  motives  that  control  your  con- 
duct. I  do  not  know  the  temptations  with  which 
you  grapple  and  before  which  you  make  secret 
obeisance.  I  do  not  know  the  ghosts  that  walk 
in  the  night  and  disturb  your  peace;  but  I  do 
know  the  secret  of  victory.  I  would  not  fight 
them.  I  would  not  fight  the  devil  with  his  own 
weapons.  There  is  a  better  way.  I  would  not 
even  say  or  sing: 

"  The  dearest  idol  I  have  known, 
Whate'er  that  idol  be, 
Help  me  to  tear  it  from  its  throne." 

It  is  a  hard  and  dangerous  and  unsuccessful 
business  to  tear  an  idol  from  its  throne.  I  doubt 
if  that  has  ever  been  done.  Idols  are  not  torn 
from  their  thrones.  Psychology  and  history  and 
our  own  religious  experience  tell  us  that  they 
are  only  more  deeply  fixed  and  rooted  when  we 
try  to  do  that.  We  do  not  tear  idols  from  their 
thrones,  but  idols  can  fall,  they  can  topple  over 
in  the  night,  they  can  be  crushed  in  the  secret 
silence  of  a  mighty  working  power.  If  you  will 
bring  the  living  God  into  the  temple  of  your 
heart  the  dead  gods  will  disappear.  If  you  will 
let  in  the  light,  the  creeping  creatures  of  dark- 
ness will  depart.  What  I  would  say  and  what  I 
would  sing  every  day  and  every  hour  is  this: 

"I  need  Thee  every  hour;  stay  Thou  near  by; 
Temptations  lose  their  power,  when  Thou  art  nigh." 

Let  me  make  it  still  more  clear  by  a  simple  il- 
lustration.    A    Christian    artist    once    visited    a 


84  In  Touch  with  Reality 

young   man    in   his    room    at   college    and   was 
shocked    to   see    the   pictures   and   photographs 
with  which  his  room  was  filled.     Those  pictures 
upon  the  walls  were  windows  through  which  the 
artist  looked  into  the  young  man's  heart,  and  he 
knew  that  all  was  not  well  with  him.     Yet  he 
spoke  no  word  concerning  them  and  uttered  no 
criticism.     When  he  returned  home,   however, 
he  selected  one  of  his  own  paintings,  a  beautiful 
symbolic   piece   of   Christian   art   and   with   the 
request  that  he  would  hang  it  in  his  room,  he 
despatched   the   gift   saying   to   himself,    "  That 
should  work  a  change  for  the  young  man."    And 
it  did.    In  the  presence  of  the  beautiful,  the  vul- 
gar disappeared.     When   Christ  came  into   the 
young  collegian's  room,  Dagon  fell.     Don't  fight 
the  devil  with  his  own  weapons.     The  Spirit  of 
Truth  has  a  keener  blade  than  ever  the  hand  of 
evil  held.     Open  your  heart  to  the   truth,   lift 
Him  up  and  in  His  presence,  evil  and  sin  will 
disappear  and  temptation  lose  its  power.     Bring 
the  Ark  of  the   Covenant  of  the  truth  of  God 
into  the  holy  place  of  your  own  heart  and  before 
the  presence  of  the  eternal  God  the  dead  gods 
will    fall.     That    influence    is    like    the    pulsing, 
throbbing,  irresistible  power  of  the  spring  time. 
It  is  silent,  but  it  is  supreme.     It  is  the  path  to 
peace  and  to  power. 


VII 
The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

"For  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only  he- 
gotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him  should  not 
perish,  hut  have  everlasting  life." — John  3 :  16. 

IT  IS  a  commonplace  saying  that  one  may  live 
within  the  sound  of  church  bells  and  yet  fail 
to  hear  them,  and  it  is  equally  true  that  one 
may  live  within  the  sound  of  the  greatest  words 
of  the  Gospel  until  the  music  of  their  message 
wakes  within  him  no  sense  of  appreciation.  It 
is  not  always  true  that  familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt, but  familiarity  may  produce  an  indiffer- 
ence which  reflects  itself  in  a  lack  of  sensitive- 
ness. The  wonder  and  glory  of  the  familiar 
becomes  lost  to  us.  This,  I  think,  is  strikingly 
true  concerning  this  most  familiar  and  most  won- 
derful text — the  greatest  in  the  New  Testament. 
Surely,  it  is  the  greatest  text  in  the  Bible. 
People  of  every  nation  and  of  all  ages  have 
turned  to  it  instinctively.  It  is  said  that  Homer's 
verse  was  once  written  so  that  it  could  be  en- 
closed in  a  nutshell.  This  text  is  the  Bible  in  a 
nutshell.  Luther,  great  lover  of  the  Bible  that 
he  was,  frequently  spoke  of  it  as  "  the  Bible  in 
miniature."  Joseph  Hardy  Nessima,  the  Japa- 
nese Christian,  who  found  God  in  such  a  wonder- 

85 


86       The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

ful  way,  turned  to  it  upon  his  first  reading  of  the 
New  Testament  and  called  it  the  *'  Fujiyama  " — ; 
the  great  sacred  mountain  of  the  Bible. 

I  have  in  my  possession  a  New  Testament 
which  was  picked  up  on  one  of  the  battlefields  of 
the  South  African  war.  It  was  given  to  me  by  a 
British  officer.  It  is  printed  in  one  of  the  dialect 
tongues  of  Africa.  It  is  bound  in  the  untanned 
skin  of  some  wild  beast.  Frequently  I  take  it  in 
my  hands  and  wonder  whose  it  was  and  how  it 
came  to  be  lost  upon  the  battlefield.  Did  the 
hand  of  the  black  man,  who  held  it  as  a  priceless 
treasure  and  carried  it  out  into  the  struggle  with 
him,  fail  in  the  hour  of  battle,  or  was  it  dropped 
upon  the  field  in  the  midst  of  the  fight?  I  often 
wonder  at  the  thoughts  which  ran  through  the 
mind  of  the  converted  African  as  he  read  the 
great  words  of  the  Gospel  and  spelled  out  its 
wondrous  message  of  peace  and  freedom,  and  as 
I  turn  the  pages  which  his  hand  turned,  there  is 
one  place,  soiled  by  much  use,  the  lettering  all 
but  faded  out,  and  while  most  of  the  book  has 
been  unread  and  unsoiled,  this  page  is  worn  by 
much  fingering  and  dimmed  by  much  wear,  and 
the  page  is  the  one  that  contains  this  great  mes- 
sage of  love  and  hope  and  sacrifice.  It  was  here 
his  eyes  lingered  and  his  heart  found  rest.  Think 
of  the  novelty  and  the  wonder  and  the  moral 
magic  of  these  wonder-working  words  upon  the 
heart  of  one  for  whom  they  had  not  yet  grown 
familiar — "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He  gave 
His  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
in  Him  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting 
life !  " 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       87 

One  hardly  dares  preach  upon  such  a  text,  and 
during  the  week  that  has  gone  I  have  been  going 
over  scores  of  sermons  which  the  major  and 
minor  prophets  of  the  Christian  Church  have 
preached  during  the  centuries  the  church  has  had 
this  treasure  in  her  possession,  wondering  if  I 
could  discover  some  suggestion  that  would  make 
these  familiar  words  live  again  in  our  hearts,  and 
in  my  searching  I  have  discovered  a  novel  and 
most  interesting  division  of  the  text.  I  heard  it 
once  from  the  lips  of  Sir  William  Robertson 
Nicoll,  the  greatest  of  living  religious  journalists 
and  one  of  the  most  illuminating  of  Bible  exposi- 
tors. I  have  an  idea  that  it  can  be  found  in  some 
of  the  old  masters  of  forgotten  days,  but  you 
can  find  it  for  yourself  among  the  sermons  of 
Alexander  MacLaren,  that  prince  of  preachers. 
It  is  this  division  I  will  use  in  trying  to  open  up 
this  fountain  of  living  water,  and  I  am  confident 
that  should  you  forget  all  that  I  may  say  in  the 
sermon,  and  there  is  nothing  new  or  novel  that 
can  be  said,  you  will  not  forget  the  division  of 
the  text.    It  is  this: 

(I)  The  Lake. 

(II)  The  River. 

(III)  The  Pitcher. 

(IV)  The  Draught. 

Let  us  then  turn  to  the  text  and  see  how  it 
surrenders  its  treasures  to  us  as  we  seek  to  un- 
lock them  with  this  strange  homiletical  key. 


88       The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

The  Lake 
"  God  So  Loved  the  World  " 

That  is  the  boundless,  fathomless  fountain 
source  of  our  salvation.  God's  love  is  like  the 
great  ocean.  It  is  past  finding  out.  The  height 
and  the  depth  and  the  breadth  and  the  length  of 
the  love  of  God  passeth  knowledge.  His  love  is 
as  high  as  heaven,  deeper  than  hell.  We  cannot 
see  to  the  other  shore  and  its  wideness,  like  the 
wideness  of  the  sea,  is  beyond  our  comprehen- 
sion. You  can  read  in  Nansen's  **  Farthest 
North  "  that  one  day  he  dropped  his  line  out 
into  the  depths  until  it  all  ran  out.  Writing  the 
date  in  his  journal,  w^ith  the  length  of  his  line, 
he  added  the  note,  *'  Deeper  than  that."  The 
next  day,  adding  to  the  line,  he  ran  it  out  and 
still  no  bottom  v^as  touched,  and  again  he  wrote 
in  his  journal  the  date,  the  length  of  the  line 
and  the  added  note,  ''  Deeper  than  that."  The 
following  day  he  let  out  all  the  line  he  could  lay 
his  hands  upon,  and  still  it  swung  in  the  un- 
plumbed  depths,  and  again  he  wrote  the  words, 
'*  Deeper  than  that."  So  it  is  with  the  love  of 
the  eternal  God.  Oh,  the  depths  of  the  riches 
of  His  love!  It  is  as  deep  as  our  deepest  need, 
broader  than  the  measure  of  man's  mind. 

A  suggestion  of  the  boundless,  fathomless  na- 
ture of  the  Divine  love  is  given  to  us  in  the 
words  "  God  so  loved  the  world!'  He  loved  the 
world  that  He  made,  but  He  is  speaking  here  of 
the  world  He  lost — the  world  that  had  wandered 
like  a  lost  sheep   from   the   Father's   fold;   the 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       89 

world  that,  like  a  lost  jewel,  had  again  mingled 
with  the  dust;  the  world  that,  like  a  lost  son,  had 
turned  its  back  upon  love  and  gone  out  into  the 
night.  The  world  with  its  sin  and  shame  and  sor- 
row cries  like  a  child  in  the  night,  with  no 
language  but  a  cry,  but  hears  in  the  dark  the 
father's  voice.  It  is  this  world,  with  its  sin  and 
its  shame,  that  lies  like  a  child  moaning  in  its 
sleep  in  its  father's  arms,  cradled  in  his  love. 
Whatever  else  you  doubt  or  disbelieve,  let  noth- 
ing cloud  the  conviction  that  God's  love  is  as  deep 
as  the  sea,  and  as  wide  as  the  world !  His  love 
never  surrenders.  It  believeth  all  things;  it  en- 
dureth  all  things;  it  hopeth  all  things.  It  never 
fails.  Said  a  friend  to  a  father,  whose  boy  had 
been  doing  badly, ''  And  how  is  John  ?  "  ''  Worse 
and  worse,"  said  the  father  with  a  strange 
tremor  in  his  voice.  *'  If  he  were  my  boy," 
said  the  friend,  ''  I  would  cast  him  off."  "  Yes," 
said  the  father,  ''  and  if  he  were  your  boy,  I 
would  cast  him  oi¥,  but  you  see  he  is  not  your 
boy,  but  my  boy."  From  love's  argument  there 
is  no  appeal,  and  the  love  that  never  fails,  watches 
and  waits  through  the  long  night,  enduring  and 
hoping  and  trusting,  and  the  light  of  that  love 
never  wearies  but  ever  waits. 

Are  you  sure  that  the  familiarity  of  these  great 
words  have  not  made  you  deaf  to  the  wonder  of 
the  message?  Of  course  you  are  sure,  confi- 
dently sure,  that  God  loved  you,  loved  you  in 
your  sin  and  loved  you  out  of  it,  but  the  words 
are  filled  with  a  deeper  meaning  and  the  water 
of  life  touches  other  shores  than  those  of  your 
life.    It  was  the  world,  not  America  only,  that  He 


90      The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

carried  in  His  arms.  The  love  of  God  is  a  mis- 
sionary love  that  holds  in  its  warm  embrace  the 
children  of  every  race  and  of  every  land  and 
knows  no  distinction  between  east  and  west, 
north  and  south.  Like  the  great  ocean  that 
washes  the  shores  of  many  nations  and  conti- 
nents, so  does  the  love  of  God  touch  every  heart 
and  every  life  and  every  land.  The  love  of  God 
is  broader  than  the  measure  of  man's  mind.  It 
is  as  wide  as  eternity,  as  deep  as  the  last  need 
of  life. 

The  River 


t( 


God  So  Loved  the  World  that  He  Gave  His  Only 

Begotten  Son  " 

The  lake  flows  out  into  the  river.  The  river 
issues  forth  from  the  lake.  It  is  only  through 
the  river  that  we  discover  the  lake.  We  would 
never  have  known  the  great  boundless  expanse 
were  it  not  for  the  river  that  flows  past  our  own 
door.  It  was  by  following  the  Nile  that  Sir 
Samuel  Baker  came  into  the  blue  expanse  of  the 
Albert  Nyanza.  If  you  will  read  a  very  sad  but 
fascinating  book  called  ""  The  Lure  of  the  Lab- 
rador," in  which  the  story  of  the  death  of  young 
Leonidas  Hubbard  is  told, — the  young  man  who 
followed  the  lure  of  the  river  to  discover  the 
great  inland  sea  of  fresh  water  hidden  in  the 
fastness  of  the  undiscovered  Labrador,  and  who 
died  reading  these  very  words  which  we  are 
reading  and  thinking  about, — you  will  see  what 
I  mean.  It  was  only  by  following  the  course  of 
the  river  through  the  rapids  and  the  desolate 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       91 

stretches  of  that  uninhabited  land,  up  and  up  and 
on  and  on,  where  no  white  man's  face  had  gone 
before  him,  that  at  last  he  stood  upon  the  moun- 
tain peak  and  looked  down  on  the  dazzhng 
beauty  of  Michikamau,  the  lake  that  was  nursed 
into  beauty  on  the  bosom  of  desolation.  In  fol- 
lowing the  river  he  had  come  at  last  to  the  lake. 
Do  you  see  what  I  mean?  It  is  only  as  we  follow 
our  guide  that  we  get  to  the  goal;  only  as  we 
follow  Christ  Jesus  the  Lord  that  we  come  into 
the  great  discovery  of  the  unutterable  love  of  the 
Father.  It  is  only  as  we  trace  the  gift  that  we 
discover  the  Giver.  "  There  is  a  river,  the  stream 
whereof  shall  make  glad  the  City  of  God."  The 
river  of  water  of  life,  clear  as  crystal,  flows 
from  the  throne  of  God  down  to  the  very  feet  of 
man.  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father."  That  is  the  fact  of  revelation.  It  is 
only  through  Jesus  that  we  rise  into  the  dis- 
covery of  God.  We  do  not  rise  through  nature 
up  to  God.  The  story  of  revelation  is  the  story 
of  God  in  His  love  and  holiness  coming  down  to 
the  children  of  men  in  their  sorrow  and  their 
sin.  It  is  not  man's  discovery  of  God  that  is  the 
wonder  of  wonders,  but  God's  recovery  of  man. 
The  New  Jerusalem  comes  down  from  above. 
It  is  Jesus  who  lifts  us  up  into  the  presence  of 
the  Father.  If  He  had  not  come  to  us,  discover- 
ing to  us  the  nature  and  the  name  of  God,  we 
would  have  been  lured  on  into  an  undiscovered 
country,  and,  like  the  multitude  who  know  not 
His  name,  have  lost  ourselves.  ''  No  man  com- 
eth  unto  the  Father  except  by  me." 

Do  you  think  it  is  easy  to  believe  this  revela- 


92       The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

tion?  Do  you  find  it  easy  to  believe  that  God  is 
love?  In  these  days  when  the  clouds  hang  low 
and  dark  over  the  face  of  the  world,  in  this  age 
when  the  world  is  an  armed  camp  and  the  sor- 
rows of  the  world  break  our  hearts;  when  little 
orphan  children,  made  orphans  through  the 
cruelty  and  horror  of  man-made  war;  when 
women  go  hungry  and  homeless,  wanderers  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth,  do  you  find  it  easy  to  be- 
lieve that  God  is  love?  I  find  it  hard!  If  it  were 
not  for  Calvary  I  could  hardly  dare  to  hope  that 
the  heart  of  God  is  friendly  to  the  world  that  is 
sobbing  today  like  a  child  in  pain.  I  can  under- 
stand what  Goethe,  the  greatest  of  the  Germans, 
meant  when  looking  upon  the  world  of  his  day 
with  its  social  tragedies  and  personal  sorrows, 
he  said,  *'  If  I  were  God  the  sorrow  of  the  world 
would  break  my  heart."  Was  Goethe  more  sym- 
pathetic and  tender  than  God?  Why  did  he  not 
think  things  through?  Why  was  he  blind  to 
what  his  eyes  might  have  seen?  What  does  Cal- 
vary mean  if  it  means  not  this — that  the  sorrow 
of  the  world  did  break  God's  heart;  that  He  so 
loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  and  gave  and 
gave  until,  in  full  and  complete  sacrifice.  He  gave 
Himself? 

"  See  from  His  head,  His  hands,  His  feet 
Sorrow  and  love  flow  mingled  down." 

Calvary  is  the  pledge  given  in  darkness  that 
God  is  light  and  God  is  love. 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       93 

The  Pitcher 

"  That  Whosoever  Believeth  " 

But,  all  this  might  be  true  and  still  mean  noth- 
ing to  you.  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son  that  whosoever  be- 
lieveth." The  word  "  whosoever "  opens  the 
door  of  hope  to  you,  but  it  also  limits  the  opera- 
tion of  the  love  of  God.  The  river  of  water  of 
life  might  flow  down  past  your  door  and  at  your 
feet,  but  you  must  stoop  down  yourself  and 
drink,  or  it  will  mean  nothing  whatever  to  you. 
And  this  is  the  tragedy  of  God's  great  love,  that 
it  flows  on  and  on  through  time  and  still  the 
world  will  not  drink  and  live.  An  old  tale  of  the 
sea  tells  us  that  sailors  upon  a  sailing  ship  be- 
calmed at  sea,  were  ready  to  perish  of  thirst. 
There  was  water,  water  everywhere  but  not  a 
drop  to  drink.  All  fresh  water  had  long  since 
been  used  and  they  were  facing  increasing  neces- 
sity upon  what  seemed  to  be  a  painted  ocean. 
One  day  when  the  breeze  rose  another  sail  came 
into  sight.  They  hailed  it  as  a  saviour  and, 
speaking  the  ship,  asked  for  water.  The  answer 
came  back,  ''  Let  down  into  the  deep;  you  are  in 
the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  and  the  water  is  fresh." 
That  which  is  not  used  is  of  no  use  and  the  love 
of  God  that  flows  through  time  must  be  taken 
up  by  a  living  faith  into  the  human  heart  before 
it  becomes  a  living  Gospel.  This  is  the  act  of 
saving  faith,  not  the  acceptance  of  a  set  of  propo- 
sitions or  the  intellectual  assent  to  a  form  of 
doctrine,  however  true  that  form  may  be,  but  an 
act.    It  is  the  soul  trusting  and  venturing  out  in 


94       The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

active  obedience  upon  the  truth  of  the  living 
God.    Faith  is  a  venture  • 

"  Nothing  behind, 
Nothing  before, 

The  steps  of  faith  fall  on  the  seeming  void 
And  find  the  rock  beneath." 

Others  have  made  the  venture  and  have  found 
life.  Will  you  stoop  down  and  drink?  Will  you 
take  the  pitcher  that  is  in  your  own  hand  and 
fill  it  for  yourself  beside  the  crystal  stream  that 
has  been  flowing  for  you  through  the  centuries? 

The  Draught 

"  Should  Not  Perish  but  Have  Everlasting  Life  " 

The  Lake,  the  River,  the  Pitcher;  these  three 
make  up  the  truth  of  the  Gospel — the  love  of 
God,  the  revelation  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  living, 
appropriating  faith!  And  what  then?  The 
draught  of  eternal  life!  "He  that  believeth  in 
Me  should  not  perish  but  have  everlasting  life." 
Call  it  what  you  will,  salvation  or  justification,  or 
sanctification,  or  regeneration,  here  is  life,  eter- 
nal life. 

Water  was  a  symbol  of  life  on  the  lips  of  Jesus. 
His  appeal  was  ever  to  the  elemental  needs  of 
life.  He  came  to  satisfy  the  hungry  heart,  the 
thirsty  soul.  He  is  the  Bread  of  Life,  the  Water 
of  Life.  The  Samaritan  woman  sat  beside  the 
ancient  patriarchal  well,  weary  with  the  burden 
and  the  heat  of  the  day,  more  weary  still  with 
her  own  empty  and  selfish  life,  and  looking  into 
the  face  of  the  Stranger  who  had  told  her  of  the 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       95 

gift  of  living  water,  spoke  out  the  misgiving  of 
her  own  heart,  "  Whence,  then,  hast  Thou  that 
Hving  water?  "  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
her :  **  Every  one  that  drinketh  of  this  water  shall 
thirst  again;  but  whosoever  drinketh  of  the 
water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst;  but 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  become  in 
him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into  eternal 
life."  And  the  woman  seeing,  as  in  a  mist  the 
daybreak  of  hope,  spoke  out  the  longing  of  her 
soul,  "  Sir,  give  me  of  this  water  that  I  thirst  not, 
neither  come  hither  to  draw."  It  is  a  parable  of 
life  as  it  is  known  to  every  one  of  us.  Over  every 
fountain  which  the  world  opens  for  our  refresh- 
ment can  be  written  the  words  which  speak  of 
disappointed  hopes  and  broken  purposes,  *'  Who- 
soever drinketh  of  this  water  shall  thirst  again." 
Only  of  one  fountain  can  we  drink  and  find  eter- 
nal life,  the  life  that  gives  rest  unto  our  souls.  It 
is  the  fountain  of  life,  of  love,  of  God  Himself. 

How  much  the  world  needs  it!  Men  and 
women  are  going  through  life  seeking  at  many 
shrines  for  rest  and  crying  in  many  languages, 
"  Life,  Life,  Eternal  Life."  I  was  interested  not 
long  ago  in  a  painting  by  Sir  John  Collier,  called 
"Sentenced  to  Death."  The  painter  introduces 
us  to  a  great  physician  who  is  telling  the  result 
of  his  examination  to  a  young  man  who  has  asked 
his  advice.  The  young  man  sits  before  him, 
faultlessly  dressed,  with  no  suggestion  of  illness 
or  of  physical  defect,  but  the  doctor  has  read  the 
approaching  signs  of  disease  and  is  telling  him 
that  his  days  are  numbered.  It  is  a  familiar  story 
and  one  which  the  world  has  grown  accustomed 


96      The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World 

to  hear.  But  another  picture  rises  before  me.  I 
see  another  Physician,  humanity's  Divine  Healer, 
who  reads  and  sees  the  things  that  are  hidden 
from  the  eyes  of  men ;  who  knows  a  secret  which 
the  world  in  its  wisdom  could  never  have  discov- 
ered, and  to  each  one  He  comes  with  His  mes- 
sage. It  is  not  a  sentence  of  death.  It  is  a  prom- 
ise of  life.  He  that  believeth  shall  not  see  death. 
He  that  believeth  shall  have  everlasting  life. 
This  is  the  Gospel  of  love  and  of  life.  It  is  as 
high  as  heaven — for  it  flows  forth  from  God  Him- 
self. It  is  as  deep  as  hell,  for  it  meets  the  needs 
of  every  sinful  man.  What  can  we  say  but  this, 
Thanks  be  unto  God  for  His  unspeakable  gift. 

What,  then,  shall  we  say  to  these  things?  Is 
this  all?  Is  it  enough  for  you  to  know  that  God 
loves  you?  Are  you  satisfied  to  know  that  and 
do  nothing?  Is  God's  love  fulfilled  when  it  finds 
you?  Was  it  you  alone  He  loved  and  for  you 
alone  He  went  to  Calvary?  Are  you  the  world 
that  lay  in  His  arms?  Surely  you  cannot  be  satis- 
fied to  take  up  into  your  own  life  all  of  this  bound- 
less, fathomless  revelation  of  love  and  leave  the 
world  in  its  sin  and  its  sorrow  to  go  on  in  its 
blindness  and  hopelessness.  We  are  reading  to- 
day that  all  Italy  is  stirred  with  a  strange  en- 
thusiasm. We  read  that  men  and  women  and 
little  children,  soldiers  and  civilians  alike,  go  cry- 
ing and  singing  through  the  streets  their  battle 
cry.  And  what  is  their  battle  cry?  It  is  a  cry 
that  tells  of  the  old  Italian  provinces  where 
Italian  people  live  and  speak  the  Italian  tongue, 
but  which  have  never  yet  been  brought  into  the 
liberty  of  Italy's  new  freedom.    And  this  is  what 


The  Greatest  Gift  in  the  World       97 

they  cry:  "Italia  Irredenta!"  ''Italia  Irre- 
denta!" And  what  does  it  mean  as  they  go 
crying:  ''Italy  Unredeemed!  "  "Italy  Unre- 
deemed!"? It  means  this,  that  for  the  unre- 
deemed provinces,  for  their  brothers  and  sisters 
of  a  common  history  and  a  common  heritage 
they  will  go  forth  to  war;  to  fight  and,  if  need  be, 
to  die  that  they  too  may  be  sharers  together  in 
the  national  redemption.  And  for  this  they  go  to 
war  and  suffer  the  loss  of  all  things.  And  shall  we 
— we  who  have  lived  in  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  and 
have  known  its  freedom  and  have  breathed  the 
breath  of  eternity,  shall  we  be  satisfied  to  go  on 
while  great  provinces  and  nations  are  still  unre- 
deemed and  are  in  bondage  to  an  alien  power? 
God  is  love,  and  in  His  love  there  is  light  and 
there  is  life.  Let  us  tell  it  out  among  the  nations, 
and  let  us  not  selfishly  cling  to  this  priceless  pos- 
session, but  share  it  with  all  the  children  of  men. 

"God  is  love!  God  is  love!"  were  the  last 
words  of  Professor  Elmslie  before  he  passed  over 
into  the  land  where  there  is  no  death :  "  God  is 
love !  God  is  love !  "  he  repeated ;  "  I  will  go  out 
and  tell  this  to  all  the  world.  They  do  not 
know  it." 

Come  then  with  me  and  together  we  will  go 
out  and  tell  to  all  the  world  that  our  Gospel  is 
one  that  proclaims  from  every  hill  and  in  every 
valley : 

"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  He  gave  His  only 
begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  Him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.'* 


VIII 
The  School  of  Silence 

"Be  still  and  know  that  I  am  God." — Psalm  46: 10. 

THERE  is  a  double  action  in  the  text.  It 
is  retroactive.  Be  still  and  you  shall 
know.  Knowledge  will  come  in  the 
School  of  Silence.  On  the  other  hand,  know 
and  you  shall  be  still.  In  the  School  of  Silence 
God  will  reveal  Himself,  and  in  the  knowledge 
of  God  there  is  quietness  of  heart.  In  the  knowl- 
edge of  His  sovereignty.  His  eternity,  His  en- 
thronement, fears  will  be  hushed  and  hearts  will 
be  still.  That  is  the  refrain  of  this  historic  psalm. 
Though  the  earth  do  change,  and  mountains  be 
shaken,  though  the  waters  roar,  we  will  not  fear. 
The  nations  raged,  the  kingdoms  were  moved, 
but  there  is  a  river  the  streams  whereof  make 
glad  the  City  of  God.  He  maketh  wars  to  cease, 
He  breaketh  the  bow  in  sunder.  He  burneth  the 
chariot  in  the  fire.  Be  still  and  know  that  I  am 
God. 

It  is  a  word  that  never  was  born  out  of  the 
experience  of  our  western  world,  and  yet  it  is 
written  into  the  heart  of  this  Book  of  books. 
This  is  what  our  western  world  would  say :  "  Be 
up  and  doing ;  be  busy ;  be  alert ;  be  strenuous  and 
know  that  I  am  God."    These  words,  ''  Be  still/' 

9« 


The  School  of  Silence  99 

are  new  words.  They  strike  across  our  life  with 
a  challenge  and  a  condemnation.  Nevertheless, 
the  age  in  which  we  live  needs  just  such  words. 
Ours  is  a  time  of  limited  trains;  of  taxicabs  and 
trolley  cars.  A  restless  age  with  the  noise  and 
the  rattle  of  the  machinery  of  our  modern  life 
ever  in  our  ears.  An  age  of  commercial  com- 
petition; of  strikes  and  panics;  of  social  unrest; 
of  business  failures  and  political  crises;  and  the 
very  air  is  electric  with  movement  and  confu- 
sion. And  there  is  little  wisdom;  little  wisdom 
in  our  political  life;  little  of  true  wisdom  in  our 
social  life,  and  little  of  forward-looking  wisdom 
in  our  religious  life,  and  we  listen  to  the  message 
willingly,  "  Be  still  and  know." 

It  is  the  oft-repeated  message  of  the  Bible. 
"  Commune  with  your  own  heart  and  be  still." 
"  He  leadeth  me  beside  the  still  waters."  '*  He 
maketh  the  storm  a  calm  so  that  the  waves 
thereof  are  still."  "  Rest  in  the  Lord  and  wait 
patiently  for  Him."  It  was  the  word  given  to 
all  the  leaders  of  Israel.  To  Moses,  in  the  midst 
of  social  revolution,  God  said,  ''  Stand  still  and 
see  the  salvation  of  God."  To  Jeremiah,  in  the 
days  of  cruel  bloodshed :  ''  O  thou  sword  of 
Jehovah,  how  long  will  it  be  ere  thou  be  quiet? 
Put  up  thyself  into  thy  scabbard,  rest  and  be 
still."  It  was  God's  word  to  Elijah,  in  the  midst 
of  the  overturning  of  a  religious  reformation. 
After  the  earthquake  and  the  tempest  and  the 
fire,  God  came  in  the  still,  small  voice.  *'  Their 
strength  is  to  sit  still."  We  see  it  in  Jesus.  How 
strong,  and  yet  how  silent,  He  is.  Munkacsy's 
picture  of  Christ  before  Pilate  tells  us  plainly 


lOo  The  School  of  Silence 

that  strength  is  not  in  the  Roman  Governor  and 
that  God  is  not  in  the  mob,  but  in  the  heart  of 
the  silent  Christ,  so  quietly  majestic,  so  confi- 
dently strong. 

Be  still  and  know  thyself.  We  might  begin 
there.  If  a  man  is  to  know  himself  he  must  take 
time  to  be  quiet.  He  may  be  a  better  man,  or  he 
may  be  a  worse  man,  than  he  knows.  There  is 
so  much  that  clings  to  us  that  does  not  belong  to 
us.  So  many  opinions  that  have  been  made  for 
us  that  we  have  not  made  for  ourselves.  It  is 
the  attitude  of  Wordsworth,  who  has  thought 
long  and  brooded  much  over  himself  and  life, 
and  therefore  speaks  for  the  race; 

"  Nor  less  I  deem  that  there  are  powers 

Which  of  themselves  our  minds  impress; 
That  we  can  feed  this  mind  of  ours 
In  a  wise  passiveness. 

"Think  you,  'mid  all  this  mighty  sum 
Of  things  forever  speaking, 
That  nothing  of  itself  will  come, 
But  we  must  still  be  seeking?" 

It  is  only  when  the  life  is  still  that  we  hear  the 
far-off  voices  calling.  Traditional  literature  is 
full  of  strange  suggestions.  The  bells  of  buried 
cities  that  ring  under  the  snow,  or  under  the  sea, 
when  the  waves  are  still;  the  evening  vespers 
rung  from  chimes  that  have  been  lost  under 
ground  because  of  the  havoc  of  war,  all  these  are 
intimations  of  the  better  thoughts  and  deeper 
feelings  that  come  to  us  when  we  let  the  beating 
of  the  waves  of  our  active  lives  be  still. 

"  Far,  far  away,  like  bells  at  evening  pealing, 
The  voice  of  Jesus  sounds  o'er  land  and  sea." 


The  School  of  Silence  loi 

Let  us  not  be  surprised  that,  made  in  the 
image  of  God,  truths  awake  within  us  that  we 
never  dreamed  possessed  our  hearts. 

But  the  teaching  is  deeper  than  this.  If  a  man 
would  know  God,  let  him  take  time  to  hear  God 
speak.  No  man  by  searching  and  struggUng  can 
find  out  God.  It  is  not  the  deepest  truth  when 
we  say :  "  Finding,  following,  seeking,  strug- 
ghng,  is  He  sure  to  bless?  "  God  reveals  Himself 
to  us.  It  is  He  who  speaks  or  we  would  never 
know  that  He  is  here.  It  is  God  who  reveals 
Himself  rather  than  man  who  discovers  God  in 
his  seeking.  And  so  all  through  the  record  of  the 
revelation  we  find  God  coming  to  men  when  the 
doors  of  their  lives  are  closed  to  the  world  and 
open  to  His  coming.  Jacob  finds  God,  and  the 
angels,  and  the  open  heaven,  in  the  quiet  of 
Bethel.  Moses  finds  God  in  the  burning  bush  in 
the  quiet  of  the  wilderness.  God  is  always  lead- 
ing us  into  the  School  of  Silence  in  order  that 
we  may  hear  Him  speak.  Let  us  discover,  if  we 
can,  the  meaning  of  God's  School  of  Silence. 


There  Is  the  School  of  Silence  Which  We  Call  Sleep 

It  is  sleep,  God's  great  gift  of  sleep,  that  not 
only  binds  up  the  ravelled  sleeve  of  care,  but 
introduces  us  to  mystery  and  to  God.  There 
was  always  an  unnamable  mystery  about  sleep 
to  Jesus.  Sleep  was  even  more  mysterious  to 
Jesus  than  death.  "  She  is  not  dead  but  sleep- 
eth."  If  it  were  not  for  sleep  and  the  quiet  of  the 
night  we  might  lose  the  sense  of  God  altogether. 


I02  The  School  of  Silence 

Sleep  brings  to  every  soul  a  supreme  surrender, 
a  surrender  that  calls  for  perfect  trust  in  the  land 
of  forgetfulness  and  human  helplessness.  Those 
of  us  who  have  submitted  to  a  serious  surgical 
operation  understand  the  strange  feeling  of  child- 
like surrender  w^hich  comes  as  w^e  pass  out  of  the 
realm  of  consciousness.  It  is  the  giving  up  of 
one's  self.  It  is  a  supreme  surrender.  It  is  the 
awakening  of  a  real  faith,  a  great  adventure, 
an  entrusting  of  ourselves,  a  lifting  of  the  anchor, 
a  breaking  of  the  tie  that  binds  us  to  the  old  life; 
and  every  night,  when  silence  is  upon  the  world, 
something  like  this  happens  to  us  all.  Sleep  is 
what  death  was  to  Paul,  *'  The  hour  of  his  de- 
parture." It  is  going  upon  a  voyage  of  discov- 
ery to  the  far  haven  of  hope.  We  trust  ourselves 
to  the  keeping  of  another;  we  close  our  eyes  and 
pass  away,  and  in  that  sleep  it  may  be  that  God 
will  speak  to  us,  speak  to  us  not  only  of  bodily 
refreshment  and  of  the  renewing  of  vitality,  but 
speak  to  us  of  the  childlike  faith,  which  is  the 
first  step  into  the  Kingdom  of  God.  In  the  dark- 
ness we  touch  God's  hand  and  are  made  strong. 
How  differently  things  look  in  the  morning.  We 
awaken  after  an  anxious  or  perplexed  evening,  to 
the  dawning  of  hope  and  faith's  new  expectancy. 
Let  a  man,  therefore,  prepare  by  prayer  to  meet 
God  every  night.  The  child's  instinct  to  say  his 
evening  prayer  is  a  true  instinct.  There  is  a 
verse  in  the  Psalms  whose  marginal  reading  pro- 
vokes thought  and  expectation.  We  have  been 
accustomed  to  read  it,  *'  And  so  He  giveth  His 
beloved  sleep."  The  marginal  reading  causes 
us  to  see  that  the  message  is  not  for  death,  but 


The  School  of  Silence  103 

for  life,  and  bids  us  read  the  words,  "  And  so 
He  giveth  His  beloved  in  sleep."  Let  us,  there- 
fore, prepare  to  meet  God  in  this  School  of 
Silence. 

II 

There  Is  the  School  of  Silence  that  Is  Called  the 

Sabbath 

What  a  wonderful  school  it  is!  We  are  all 
students  and  pupils  in  that  school  now,  and  is 
there  any  revelation,  is  there  any  knowledge, 
more  wonderful  than  that  which  comes  to  us 
now,  to  little  children,  to  busy  men  and  women? 
Scientists  tell  us  that  we  hardly  recover  the 
vitality  in  sleep  that  is  lost  in  the  daytime, 
and  that  only  as  the  returning  Sabbath  rest 
comes  to  us  do  we  keep  the  true  tenor  of  our 
strength.  Yet  the  constant  temptation  is  upon 
us  to  rob  us  of  the  quiet  of  the  day.  Men  and 
women  are  wearing  themselves  out  through 
work  and  pleasure,  and  are  laying  burdens  upon 
the  generation  that  is  to  come  that  will  be  hard 
for  their  children  to  bear.  If  we  close  this  school 
of  the  Sabbath  I  am  afraid  the  knowledge  of  God 
will  die  out  among  the  children  of  men.  I  am 
old-fashioned  enough  to  believe  that  without  the 
Sabbath  a  true  knowledge  of  God  would  dis- 
appear from  our  national  life.  It  is  God  who 
leads  us  into  this  school  of  Sabbath  silence,  and 
we  are  doing  all  we  can  to  free  ourselves  from 
the  obligation.  The  Sabbath  was  made  for  man. 
It  was  made  for  man  at  his  best.  The  author  of 
the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  speaks  of  the  Sab- 


104  The  School  of  Silence 

bath  rest  into  which  Christians  may  even  now 
enter.  By  this  is  meant  the  rest  of  God,  the 
perfect  fellowship  of  those  who  have  found  God. 
Of  this  life  the  Sabbath  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
prophetic.  The  Lord's  Day  throws  open  the 
gates  of  dawn  to  those  who  have  been  in  the  val- 
ley and  bids  them  enter  into  the  freedom  of  the 
life  that  is  life  indeed.  In  a  true  sense  the  City 
of  God  comes  down  to  earth  upon  this  day. 
The  bells  of  the  city  call  men  not  to  work  but 
to  prayer,  the  worshippers  go  about  the  streets 
and  little  children  feel  that  home  upon  this  day 
of  days  is  twice  happy.  I  have  sometimes 
looked  over  this  great  city  on  a  quiet  Sabbath 
afternoon  from  a  place  of  vantage.  Streets  are 
still;  the  mills  are  quiet;  fires  and  furnaces  have 
been  banked,  and  when  the  air  is  clear  and 
quiet,  one  gets  a  vision  of  what  the  beauty 
of  the  hills  and  valleys  must  have  been  in  days 
gone  by.  And  the  beauty  and  the  wonder  of  it 
all  is  still  here.  The  lights  and  shadows  play 
upon  the  hills,  and  the  horizon  seems  to  lift  and 
lure  us  out  to  a  vaster  life.  So  it  is  with  the 
influence  of  the  Sabbath  upon  life  and  character; 
the  air  is  clarified,  the  perspective  of  life  en- 
larged, and  by  faith  we  behold  in  the  distance 
the  very  face  of  God  outlined  against  the  circum- 
stances and  conditions  of  our  present  living.  Let 
no  man  deceive  himself  by  thinking  that  he  has 
graduated  from  the  School  where  God  reveals 
Himself. 


The  School  of  Silence  105 

III 

There  Is  the  School  of  Silence  Which  We  Call 

Sorrow 

It  is  the  school  of  life  itself,  the  school  of  dis- 
appointed hopes,  of  broken  purposes,  of  clouded 
days,  of  progress  interrupted.  The  school  of  life 
where  circumstances  deceive  us  and  we  fall  back 
upon  ourselves  and  upon  God,  experiencing  the 
first  fruits  of  that  time  when  the  last  great  silence 
shall  fall  upon  us  all,  and  we  shall  be  alone  with 
Him. 

Many  a  man  owes  his  experience  of  God  and 
the  revelation  of  a  true  life  to  some  sudden  dis- 
appointment. "  Before  I  was  afflicted  I  went 
astray,"  were  the  words  of  a  man  who  could  dis- 
tinguish the  face  of  God  in  the  storm. 

"  O  earth,  so  full  of  dreary  noises ! 
O  men,  with  wailing  in  your  voices ! 

O  delved  gold,  the  wailers  heap ! 
O  strife,  O  curse,  that  o'er  it  fall ! 
God  strikes  a  silence  through  you  all, 

And  giveth  His  beloved  sleep." 

The  years  through  which  we  are  now  living 
seem  to  be  a  period  when  God  has  put  His  hand 
upon  this  pulsating  life  of  ours  and  stopped  its 
progress  in  order  that  we  might  know  again  that 
the  captains  and  the  kings  depart,  that  there  is 
something  better  than  progress,  something  bet- 
ter than  civilization,  something  better  than  sci- 
ence. Let  us  be  patient  and  let  us  be  still.  God 
has  a  way  of  revealing  Himself  that  is  often 
strange  to  us.    He  has  done  it  in  history  and  He 


io6  The  School  of  Silence 

will  do  it  again.  "  The  clouds  which  we  so  much 
dread  are  big  with  blessings."  In  this  school  of 
disappointed  hopes  and  frustrated  plans  God  will 
teach  us  His  ways. 

In  the  autobiography  of  Mark  Rutherford,  a 
book  of  abiding  interest  and  wonderful  charm, 
we  come  upon  the  time  where  poverty  and  ill 
health  strike  through  the  pages  and  clouds  shut 
out  the  sun.  Out  of  distress  and  disappointment 
Mary  Mardon  points  the  path  to  peace.  *'  I  al- 
ways think,"  she  said,  "  of  our  visit  to  the  seaside 
two  years  ago.  The  railway  station  was  in  a 
disagreeable  part  of  the  town  and  when  we 
came  out  we  walked  along  a  dismal  row  of  very 
plain-looking  houses.  There  were  cards  in  the 
windows  with  '  Lodging '  written  on  them,  and 
father  wanted  to  go  in  to  ask  the  terms.  I  said 
I  did  not  wish  to  stay  in  such  a  dull  street,  but 
father  could  not  afford  to  pay  for  a  sea  view,  and 
so  we  went  in  to  inquire.  We  then  found  that 
what  we  thought  were  the  fronts  of  the  houses 
were  the  backs,  and  that  the  fronts  faced  the  sea. 
They  had  pretty  gardens  on  the  other  side  and  a 
glorious  sunny  prospect  over  the  ocean."  It  is 
often  so  that  in  the  school  of  sorrow  we  hear  the 
sweetest  music  and  see  the  far-off  promise  of  the 
sunrise. 

It  was  the  Spirit  of  God  who  led  Jesus  into 
the  wilderness.  It  was  the  same  Spirit  who  led 
Paul  into  the  silent  spaces  of  Arabia.  It  was  the 
same  Spirit  of  God  who  led  John  into  the  dreary 
desolation  of  Patmos  to  see  the  City  of  God  com- 
ing down  out  of  heaven,  prepared  as  a  bride 
adorned  for  her  husband. 


The  School  of  Silence  107 

"  I  walked  a  mile  with  Pleasure ; 
She  chattered  all  the  way, 
But  left  me  none  the  wiser 
For  all  she  had  to  say. 

I  walked  a  mile  with  Sorrow, 

And  ne'er  a  word  said  she, 
But  oh,  the  things  I  learned  from  her, 

When  Sorrow  walked  with  me !  " 

God  always  works  in  silence.  "  Verily  thou  art 
a  God  that  hidest  Thyself." 

Think  of  the  great  miracle  in  nature  going  on 
about  us  in  these  inimitable  spring  days.  In  the 
silence  nature  is  putting  on  her  garments  of 
glory;  in  the  night,  deep  is  calUng  unto  deep,  and 
every  morning  when  we  awake,  we  awake  to  a 
new  revelation  of  beauty  and  to  a  world  that  is 
fresh  with  the  fragrance  and  the  flower  of  a  new 
winsomeness,  and  it  all  goes  on  in  the  School  of 
Silence.  ''  How  silently,  how  silently,  the  won- 
drous gift  is  given."  God's  greatest  works  are 
all  done  in  silence.  The  whole  world  system 
moves  noiselessly  in  its  mysterious  path.  '*  There 
is  no  speech  nor  language;  their  voice  is  not 
heard."  The  dewdrop  crystallizes  in  the  dark- 
ness and  rests  on  the  million  blades  of  grass,  and 
speaks  not  of  its  coming;  in  the  evening  profound 
stillness  is  upon  the  fields  where  the  harvest 
ripens.  It  is  always  so  when  God  works;  He 
hides  Himself  that  we  cannot  see  Him.  Not 
long  since,  I  went  with  a  friend  to  a  great  steel 
plant,  where  the  hammering  and  the  din,  the 
noise  and  confusion,  were  so  great  that  I  could 
not  hear  the  words  my  friend  was  speaking  at 
my  side.  Suddenly  we  passed  on  into  the  engine 
room  and  it  was  like  passing  from  babel  into 


io8  The  School  of  Silence 

silence.  It  was  the  quietest  place  in  all  the  plant. 
There,  moving  noiselessly,  the  mighty  engines 
were  working  the  will  of  man,  and  yet  in  that 
noiseless,  silent  place  of  power  was  generated  the 
energy  that  moved  every  wheel  in  that  world  of 
machinery.  Let  something  happen  there  in  that 
realm  of  creative  power,  and  every  machine 
would  stop.  We  must  not  work  less  nor  strive 
less,  but  we  must  think  more  and  pray  more 
and  wait  more  patiently  upon  the  Lord  for  the 
renewing  of  our  strength.  Let  us  take  time 
every  day  to  say: 

**  Drop  Thy  still  dews  of  quietness, 

Till  all  our  strivings  cease ; 
Take  from  our  souls  the  strain  and  stress, 
And  let  our  ordered  lives  confess 

The  beauty  of  Thy  peace." 


IX 
The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

"  The  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday." — Psalm  91 : 6. 

THERE  is  something  startling  in  that  state- 
ment. We  rarely  think  of  the  destruction 
that  wasteth  at  noonday.  It  is  something 
unusual  to  speak  of  the  perils  of  the  light.  It  is 
not  the  day  but  the  dark  we  fear.  "  At  night  an 
atheist  half  believes  a  God."  It  is  the  pestilence 
that  walketh  in  darkness  that  we  most  fear.  It  is 
not  the  dreadnought,  thundering  in  anger  upon 
the  open  sea,  but  the  submarine,  speeding  on  in 
the  silence,  that  strikes  terror  to  our  hearts.  It 
is  not  the  dragon  we  meet  in  our  path  that  alarms 
us,  but  the  snake  hidden  in  the  grass ;  not  the  army 
in  the  fortress,'  but  the  army  in  ambush;  not  the 
highwayman,  but  the  thief  in  the  night;  not  the 
serried  ranks  of  massed  armies,  but  the  masked 
battery;  not  the  soldier  who  challenges  us  in  the 
sunshine,  but  the  spectre  that  signals  to  us 
through  the  silence  and  the  shadows. 

Nevertheless  there  is  something  perilous  about 
the  light.  It  is  the  light  and  not  the  darkness 
that  strikes  us  into  blindness.  There  is  a  destruc- 
tion that  wasteth  at  noonday.  It  may  not  be  the 
dreadnought  nor  the  submarine,  but  it  may  be 
the  thoughtless,  holiday-making,  floating  palace 

109 


no        The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

on  her  maiden  voyage,  sailing  the  sea  of  doom. 
We  may  be  in  more  danger  from  the  pickpocket 
in  the  crowded  street,  than  from  the  thief  in  the 
night.  It  may  not  be  the  tempest  in  the  dark- 
ness that  carries  us  away,  but  the  cyclone  that 
sweeps  the  earth  in  the  light  of  the  sun. 

This  then  is  my  theme.  I  would  speak  of  the 
perils  of  the  noonday.  I  would  warn  you  of 
the  danger  from  the  light.  The  man  who  stole  the 
radium  last  week  was  warned  to  bring  it  back, 
for  the  peril  of  death  lay  in  its  luminous  mys- 
tery. I  would  have  you  pray  that  the  sun  may 
not  strike  you  by  day.  I  would  have  you  remem- 
ber that  it  was  in  the  night  that  Jesus  was  be- 
trayed and  condemned,  but  it  was  in  the  light  that 
He  was  crucified  and  at  high  noon  He  hung 
dying  upon  the  cross. 


There  Is  a  Destruction  that  Wasteth  at  Noonday  in 
National  Life 

These  are  days  when  we  are  thinking  in  na- 
tional terms.  We  are  compelled  to  do  so.  One 
of  the  results  of  the  present  European  catas- 
trophe is  to  drive  home  to  us  the  fact  that  we 
cannot  keep  the  individual  thought  of  the  peo- 
ple separate  from  national  consequences.  If  we 
learn  that  lesson  well,  so  that  henceforth  Chris- 
tian character  and  individual  ideals  shall  become, 
in  a  new  way,  vitally  related  to  national  aims 
and  policies,  something  at  least  will  be  saved 
from  the  flood  of  great  waters  that  is  now  upon 
our   twentieth   century   civiHzation. 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday  iii 

And  this  is  the  thought  and  lesson  that  lies 
upon  the  very  surface  of  the  world's  history  to- 
day. When  a  nation  is  young  and  emerging  out 
of  the  shadows  of  obscurity  or  painfully  strug- 
gling up  the  slope,  it  is  beset  with  many  dangers 
and  temptations,  such  as  come  from  weakness, 
timidity  and  isolation,  but  the  real  dangers 
come  to  a  nation  when  it  has  found  for  itself  a 
place  in  the  sun,  has  reached  the  summit  and  dis- 
covered its  strength. 

You  can  find  this  truth  illustrated  upon  every 
page  of  both  sacred  and  secular  history.  When 
Israel  grew  great  she  faltered  and  fell.  When 
she  was  weak  she  became  strong  in  faith.  Take 
the  Song  of  Moses  in  the  thirty-second  chapter 
of  Deuteronomy.  The  poet-prophet  is  speaking 
in  endearing  terms  of  Israel,  but  his  words  are 
coloured  with  passionate  regret.  He  calls  Israel 
by  a  pet  name,  Jeshurun,  the  upright,  the  right- 
eous one.  And  this  is  what  he  says:  "Jeshurun 
waxed  fat  and  kicked."  That  is  the  poetry  of 
fact.  And  then  he  goes  on  to  state  that  the 
result  of  that  well-fed,  comfortable  prosperity 
was  the  loss  of  national  faith  and  religious 
valour.  The  prophet's  lament  is  full  of  pathos 
and  scorn,  *'  Thou  art  waxen  fat,  thou  art  grown 
thick,  thou  art  become  sleek,  thou  hast  forsaken 
the  God  that  made  thee  and  lightly  esteemed  the 
rock  of  thy  salvation."  Take  also  the  lament  of 
Hosea  in  the  eleventh  chapter  of  his  prophecy. 
God  is  speaking  again  of  Israel  in  terms  of  en- 
dearment and  calls  Israel  by  the  old  name  of 
Ephraim.  There  is  no  more  revealing  picture 
of  the  tenderness  and  loving  kindness  of  Jehovah 


112         The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

in  all  Scripture  than  this.  It  is  the  story  of  Israel, 
little  and  weak  and  just  learning  to  walk;  but 
loyal  and  true  to  her  ideals,  becoming  strong  and 
self-reliant  and  wilful  and  then  slipping  from  her 
place  among  the  nations.  '*  When  Israel  was  a 
child,  then  I  loved  him  and  from  Egypt  I  called 
him  to  be  my  son.  The  more  I  called  to  them 
the  farther  they  went  from  me,  yea,  I  taught 
Ephraim  to  walk,  holding  them  on  mine  arms,  but 
they  knew  not  that  I  healed  them.  I  drew  them 
with  cords  of  a  man  and  with  bands  of  love.  My 
people  have  a  bias  to  turn  from  me.  They  shall 
return  to  the  land  of  Egypt  for  they  have  re- 
fused to  turn  to  me.  How  am  I  to  give  thee 
up  O  Ephraim !  How  am  I  to  let  thee  go,  O 
Israel !  How  am  I  to  give  thee  up  !  "  That  is  the 
recurring  story  of  the  national  life  of  Israel. 
In  the  heyday  of  their  history  they  revelled  and 
drank  and  forgot  God,  and  at  last  the  destruction 
that  wasteth  at  noonday  swept  them  from  their 
homes  and  their  country  into  a  strange  land, 
and  then,  in  the  solitude  of  the  Babylonian  exile, 
they  found  their  nationality  again.  It  was  in 
Babylon,  in  humiliation  and  overthrow,  that  God 
gave  them  their  songs  in  the  night.  It  was  there 
they  sang,  "  If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let 
my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning." 

What  is  true  of  Israel  is  true  of  modern  and 
ancient  nations.  It  is  true  of  Rome.  It  was  not 
when  she  was  small  that  she  stumbled,  but  when 
in  her  greatness  as  a  world  power  she  dared  to 
enslave  lesser  peoples,  that  she  lost  the  power  of 
self-mastery.  No  nation  can  exist  half  slave  and 
half  free.    It  is  true  of  Spain.    All  her  pomp  of 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday         113 

yesterday,  where  is  it?  Where  are  her  argosies 
and  her  treasure  ships,  her  colonies  and  her 
world  power?  In  the  noonday  of  her  splendour, 
through  levity  and  irreverence  and  greed,  her 
own  hand  of  power  drew  a  dark  cloud  across  her 
sun.  It  is  true  today  of  Germany.  When  she 
was  struggling  up  to  a  place  among  the  nations, 
humble  and  reverent  and  true,  she  gave  us  Kant 
and  Fichte,  Schiller  and  Goethe,  Beethoven  and 
Mendelssohn,  Tholuck  and  Schleiermacher,  and 
all  that  great  line  of  immortals,  whom  we  honour 
and  love  and  follow,  but  when  she  grew  great 
and  found  her  place  in  the  sun,  she  gave  us  Nietz- 
sche and  Treitschke  and  Bismarck  and  Bern- 
hardi,  and  last  year  poured  out  into  the  flowing 
stream  of  the  world's  civilization  seven  hundred 
volumes,  dealing  with  the  tactics  and  strategy 
and  biological  necessity  of  war,  until  the  crystal 
stream  that  was  flowing  on  through  the  nations 
unto  the  coming  City  of  Peace  was  polluted  at 
the  very  fountain  of  thought  and  feeling.  And 
there  is  Britain,  with  her  dominion  over  palm 
and  pine,  her  traditions  dipped  in  the  blood  of 
martyrs  and  heroes !  When  she  was  no  bigger 
than  Belgium,  she  gave  the  world  the  charter  of 
its  liberty,  and  stood  then,  as  she  still  does,  for 
the  freedom  of  faith  and  the  honour  of  a  pledge 
before  a  hostile  world.  But  what  shall  we  say 
concerning  the  staggering  problems  of  her  noon- 
day strength?  You  can  see  more  drunken 
men  and  women  in  Edinburgh,  or  in  the  East 
End  of  London,  on  a  single  Saturday  night,  than 
you  can  see  in  Pittsburgh,  with  all  its  sin  and 
shame,  in  a  whole  year. 


114        The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

What  is  true  of  other  nations  must  of  neces- 
sity be  true  of  our  own,  though  perhaps  the  ap- 
pearance of  danger  may  be  hidden  from  our 
eyes.  In  the  early  days,  when  hemmed  in  by 
rock-bound  coasts  and  pathless  forests,  our 
fathers  founded  this  new  world  in  righteousness 
and  crowned  their  scanty  harvests  with  a 
Thanksgiving  Day.  They  had  their  dangers  and 
temptations  then.  I  know  about  the  Indians  and 
the  hard  theologies  and  the  witches  but  I  know 
also  that  in  all  purity  and  honour  they  struggled 
up  until  they  saw  the  sunrise  from  the  hilltop 
and  now,  because  of  their  climbing  we,  their 
children,  have  our  place  in  the  sun.  It  gives  one 
a  thrill  to  read  the  record  of  those  great  days 
when  the  nation  was  young  and  fine  ideals  were 
born.  Take  just  one  example.  On  the  gateway 
before  the  entrance  to  Harvard  University  is 
carved  in  stone  a  noble  utterance  from  those 
iearly  days,  dating  back  to  1643  *  "  After  God  had 
carried  us  safe  to  New  England  and  we  had 
builded  our  houses,  provided  necessaries  for  our 
livelihood,  reared  convenient  places  for  God's 
worship  and  settled  the  civil  government;  one  of 
the  next  things  we  longed  for  and  looked  after 
was  to  advance  learning  and  perpetuate  it  to 
posterity;  dreading  to  leave  an  illiterate  ministry 
to  the  churches  when  our  present  ministers  shall 
lie  in  the  dust."  Those  are  great  and  noble 
words. 

The  question  immediately  rises  to  our  lips, 
are  we  their  children  true  to  that  ideal?  Does 
religious  education  which  meant  so  much  to 
them,   have   first  place   in   the   thought   of  our 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday         115 

educational  system  today?  I  think  not.  Is  it 
your  judgment  that  we  are  as  careful  about  the 
adequate  equipment  of  our  theological  seminary 
as  we  are  about  our  technical  school?  And  then 
again,  are  we  as  anxious  to  see  that  the  seminary 
has  its  supply  of  strong  young  men  as  we  are 
that  the  supply  for  university  and  technical  insti- 
tute should  not  fail?  Do  French  and  art  and 
music  crowd  religion  out  of  its  place  in  the  edu- 
cation of  our  children?  If  we  neglect  the  reli- 
gious training  of  our  sons  and  daughters  what 
will  all  their  culture  avail?  Having  climbed  the 
ladder  and  praised  its  strength  are  we  going  to 
knock  it  out  from  under  us  now  that  we  have 
reached  the  summit?  Then,  how  will  our  chil- 
dren climb  the  heights?  There  is  even  for  us  a 
destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday,  but  be- 
cause of  the  light  our  eyes  are  holden.  Kipling's 
warning  is  as  pertinent  for  America  as  it  is  for 
Britian. 

"  If,  drunk  with  sight  of  power,  we  loose 
Wild  tongues  that  have  not  Thee  in  awe, 
Such  boastings  as  the  Gentiles  use, 
Or  lesser  breeds  without  the  law : 
Lord  God  of  Hosts,  be  with  us  yet, 
Lest  we  forget !  Lest  we  forget !  " 

II 

There  Is  a  Destruction  that  Wasteth  at  Noonday  in 
the  Life  of  the  Church 

I  am  not  afraid  of  the  pestilence  that  walketh 
in  darkness  when  the  life  of  the  church  is  con- 
cerned. The  church  has  always  prospered  in 
obscurity  and  darkness  and  persecution.     "  The 


ii6         The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church." 
I  am  afraid  of  the  destruction  that  wasteth  at 
noonday.  Travellers  to  Russia  tell  us  that  Rus- 
sia is  on  her  knees,  sober  and  silenced  and  prayer- 
ful. We  do  not  wonder  at  that.  England,  too, 
and  Germany  are  on  their  knees,  and  last  year's 
empty  churches  in  France  are  crowded  by  night 
and  by  day.  Pain  and  suffering,  danger  and 
darkness,  drive  men  into  the  very  presence  of  the 
Eternal.  It  is  when  the  church  grows  great  and 
prosperity  smiles  upon  her  that  the  winnowing 
process  begins. 

I  am  not  afraid  of  the  small,  poor  church.  I 
am  afraid  of  the  great  rich  church.  Jesus  was 
afraid  of  it.  He  left  us  no  warning  message  for 
the  poor  church.  The  poor  churches  feed  our 
great  churches  and  from  them  most  of  us  have 
come.  The  struggling  churches  of  town  and  vil- 
lage and  country  man  our  seminaries  and  furnish 
our  missionaries.  We  are  told  that  the  priest- 
hood of  Italy  is  being  recruited  almost  altogether 
from  the  peasant  class,  and  if  we  are  not  careful 
it  will  soon  be  said  of  us  that  only  from  the  hum- 
bler walks  of  life  must  we  look  for  the  manning 
of  our  churches.  God  chooses  the  poor  to  con- 
found the  rich  and  the  weak  to  put  to  shame  the 
strong.  Jesus  was  not  afraid  of  weakness  and 
poverty.  He  said,  ''Fear  not,  little  flock;  it  is 
your  Father's  good  pleasure  to  give  you  the 
kingdom."  Jesus,  however,  feared  the  noonday 
splendour  and  the  wasting  destruction  of  suc- 
cess. It  was  at  the  closed  door  of  a  cold,  rich 
church,  self-satisfied,  and  selfishly  content  that 
He  stood,  waiting  for  entrance,  knocking  with 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday  117 

His  pierced  hand,  saying,  "  Behold  I  stand  at 
the  door  and  knock;  if  any  man,  rich  or  poor, 
will  open  the  door,  I  will  come  in."  His  last 
message  to  the  church  was  to  this  very  situation. 
"  Because  thou  sayest  I  am  rich  and  have  gotten 
riches  and  have  need  of  nothing,  and  knoweth 
not  that  thou  art  wretched  and  miserable  and 
poor  and  bUnd  and  naked,  I  counsel  thee  to  buy 
of  me  gold,  refined  by  fire,  that  thou  mayest 
become  rich  and  white  garments  that  thou  may- 
est clothe  thyself  and  that  the  shame  of  thy 
nakedness  be  not  made  manifest." 

Time  would  fail  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  this 
contention.  When  the  church  forgot  the  cross 
and  sought  the  crown,  destruction  swept  her 
aisles.  The  church's  test  is  her  sacrificial  service, 
not  her  silver.  What  do  you  think  of  the  church 
in  Germany,  cradled  in  the  faith  and  loyalty  of 
Martin  Luther,  grown  rich  and  great,  devoting 
the  time  and  strength  of  her  scholarship  to  the 
discussion  of  the  question  as  to  whether  or  not 
Jesus  ever  lived?  Yet  that  is  what  we  have  been 
seeing  with  our  own  eyes.  What  do  you  think 
of  the  state  church  of  England,  grown  great,  torn 
by  factions  over  vestments  and  candles  and 
prayers  for  the  dead,  holding  a  heresy  trial  over 
an  African  bishop  who  has  been  guilty  of  admin- 
istering the  Sacrament  in  fellowship  with  Pres- 
byterian ministers?  And  what  shall  we  say  of 
the  church  in  America,  born  in  prayer  and  in  the 
evangelical  faith  of  the  great  leaders  of  men? 
What  is  this  thing  that  we  are  falling  down  be- 
fore and  worshipping,  but  the  great  god.  Success, 
that  has  crushed  its  worshippers  through  every 


ii8         The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

changing  century?  Do  we  not  know  that  the 
way  of  the  cross  is  the  way  to  power?  The 
church  must  not  be  surprised  if  she,  Hke  her 
Lord,  is  crucified.  There  is  danger  in  days  of 
noonday  strength,  in  the  search  for  success,  in 
"  running  the  church  on  business  poHcies,"  that 
we  forget  the  fire  from  the  heavenly  altar,  which 
alone  can  kindle  the  flame  of  sacred  love  within 
our  hearts.  The  divinity  of  humanity  is  a  poor 
substitute  for  the  eternal  God,  and  a  man-made 
creed  is  a  cold  and  lifeless  thing  in  comparison 
with  the  grace  and  glory  that  we  see  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ;  and  a  man-made  church  is  a 
worthless  institution,  when  it  faces  a  wicked  and 
godless  world.  The  church  is  the  body  of  Christ, 
and  is  in  the  world  to  bear  the  marks  of  the  Lord 
Jesus;  to  be  a  partaker  with  Him  in  His  suffer- 
ings ;  to  hold  fellowship  through  Him  with  all  the 
lost  and  wandering  children  of  men;  in  a  word, 
to  be  crucified  with  Him. 

"O  Cross,  that  liftest  up  my  head, 
I  dare  not  try  to  fly  from  Thee." 

Ill 

There  Is  a  Destruction  that  Wasteth  at  Noonday  in 
the  Life  of  Individuals 

I  would  speak  of  the  perils  of  individual  life 
in  its  strength.  Most  of  us  are  in  the  noonday  of 
our  life.  I  have  often  spoken  of  the  perils  of 
childhood  and  the  temptations  of  youth  and  the 
weaknesses  of  lingering  old  age,  but  I  have  sel- 
dom spoken  of  the  dangers  which  beset  men  and 
women  in  middle  life. 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday         119 

Men  and  women  in  the  maturity  of  their  Uves 
face  peculiar  temptations.  Life  has  lost  much  of 
its  colour  and  the  gleam  has  faded  over  the  mar- 
gin. There  is  an  element  of  surprise  in  Luke*s 
statement  concerning  the  healing  of  the  man 
who  lay  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  temple, 
when  he  says,  ''  The  man  was  more  than  forty 
years  old  on  whom  this  miracle  of  healing  was 
wrought."  ''  Forty  years  old  " : — that  was  mir- 
acle indeed!  It  was  this  thought  Tennyson 
tried  to  symbolize  in  his  ''  Gareth  and  Lynett." 
The  sister  of  Lynett  lay  a  prisoner  in  the  Castle 
Perilous,  guarded  by  a  knight,  armed  in  black, 
and  wearing  a  helmet  mounted  with  a  skull.  The 
Black  Knight  is  death,  the  last  enemy  which  all 
of  us  must  sometime  face,  who  guards  as  his 
own  all  that  is  mortal.  A  river  in  three  loops 
ran  around  her  prison  house,  and  over  it  three 
bridges,  at  each  of  which  stood  an  armed  knight 
in  defence  of  the  beautiful  captive.  And  these 
are  the  names  the  poet  gives  them :  Morning 
Star,  Noonday  Sun  and  Evening  Star,  each  one 
of  whom  guards  the  way  to  the  citadel,  where 
Life  contends  with  Death.  The  poet  means  to 
tell  us  that  wherever  there  is  life  these  three 
armed  knights  stand  ready  to  oppose  the  Chris- 
tian Soldier.  We  must  face  the  perils  of  youth,  of 
middle  life  and  of  old  age,  and  it  is  significant  that 
it  was  the  knight  of  the  Noonday  Sun,  the  temp- 
tations of  middle  life,  that  all  but  threw  the  com- 
ing conqueror,  and  had  not  the  armed  knight's 
horse  slipped  in  mid-stream,  the  crossing  would 
have  cost  him  his  life. 

If  you  will  take  your  Bible  and  look  at  its 


I20        The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

record  you  will  see  that  the  light  failed  with 
startling  frequency  when  the  sun  was  at  high 
noon.  David  was  at  the  very  climax  of  his 
strength  when  sin  and  shame,  like  a  great  cloud, 
shut  out  the  sun  and  silenced  his  testimony. 
Saul  began  life  a  choice  young  man  anointed  of 
God  and  approved  of  men,  but  in  the  noonday  of 
his  power  found  his  strength  turned  to  weakness. 
Samson,  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord,  became  a 
master  in  Israel,  fighting  the  Lord's  battles.  But 
when  he  had  passed  over  the  threshold  of  youth 
the  inner  light  failed  and  he  fell  back  to  the  level 
of  his  comrades.  Solomon,  wisest  of  men,  sHpped 
from  his  moorings  and  while  it  was  yet  day  sailed 
the  sea  of  life  without  a  chart  and  without  a  com- 
pass. The  knight  of  the  Noonday  Sun  smote 
each  one  of  them.  And  secular  history  con- 
tinues and  repeats  the  Bible  story.  It  was  in 
middle  life  that  Byron  confessed  that  his  days 
were  in  the  sere  and  yellow  leaf.  Cardinal  Wol- 
sey  was  climbing  the  steps  to  the  papal  throne,  at 
the  age  of  fifty,  when  he  slipped  and  fell,  and 
from  the  low  level  of  his  lost  manhood  lamented, 
that  had  he  served  his  God  as  faithfully  as  he  had 
served  his  king,  he  would  not  thus  have  been  left 
naked  to  his  enemies.  Look  back  over  the  path 
you  have  come  and  I  think  you  will  agree  with 
the  verdict,  that  if  youth,  with  its  hot  passions 
and  fiery  temptations  has  its  perils,  manhood 
with  its  cold  ambitions  and  its  worldliness,  con- 
tains perils  still  more  subtle,  and  which  more 
frequently  prevail. 

Wordsworth  suggests  that  heaven  lies  about 
us  in  our  childhood,  but  as  the  years  go  by,  and 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday  121 

childhood  and  youth  give  place  to  manhood  and 
womanhood,  the  heavenly  atmosphere  fades  out 
of  life,  the  gleam  disappears  over  the  margin, 
shades  of  the  coming  prison  house  begin  to  close 
upon  us,  and  the  vision  that  had  attended  us  in 
youth  dies  away  and  fades  into  the  light  of  com- 
mon day.  The  grip  of  the  world  tightens  as  the 
years  go  by.  It  was  not  without  reason  that  we 
find  on  almost  every  page  of  the  Gospel  that 
Jesus  warned,  again  and  again,  concerning  the 
sin  of  covetousness,  of  avarice  and  of  the  wor- 
ship of  things.  And  you  will  remember  that  in 
the  very  heart  of  his  story,  halfway  between  the 
City  of  Destruction  and  the  Celestial  City,  Bun- 
yan  places  his  startling  picture  of  Vanity  Fair, 
through  which  every  Christian  Pilgrim  must 
pass,  and  through  which  only  one,  the  Prince  of 
princes  Himself,  travelled  "  with  no  mind  to  the 
merchandise,  and  left  the  town,  without  laying 
out  so  much  as  one  farthing  upon  their  vanities." 

The  destruction  that  wasteth  at  noonday  has 
been  sweeping  through  life  since  time  began. 
There  is  a  singular  and  striking  illustration  of 
this  thought,  in  the  biography  of  George  Fred- 
erick Watts,  the  eminent  artist,  a  book  which 
all  lovers  of  beautiful  things  should  read.  The 
author  calls  it  one  of  the  saddest  stories  in  the 
annals  of  art.  A  mature  man  came  with  his 
paintings  and  drawings  to  Dante  Gabriel  Ros- 
setti,  and  begged  the  great  poet-painter  to  give 
him  a  candid  opinion  upon  them  as  to  whether 
they  were  worthless  or  not.  Rossetti  looked  at 
them  carefully,  wondering  how  he  could  break  to 


122         The  Perils  of  the  Noonday 

the  poor  man  the  fact  that  there  was  nothing 
good  in  them  whatever,  and  eventually  he  gave 
him  to  understand  this  as  kindly  as  he  could. 
The  man  then  drew  out  from  under  his  coat  an- 
other collection  of  drawings,  and  spreading  them 
out  said  that  they  were  the  work  of  a  young  stu- 
dent. Rossetti  was  delighted,  exclaiming  that 
they  showed  a  remarkable  talent,  and  that  there 
was  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  young  stu- 
dent would  distinguish  himself.  ''  Ah,  sir,"  said 
the  man,  "  I  was  that  student."  Somewhere  be- 
tween youth  and  manhood,  the  destruction  that 
wasteth  at  noonday  had  broken  in  upon  him,  and 
the  glory  and  the  dream  had  disappeared  from 
life.  And  that  same  storm,  which  still  sweeps  in 
the  light  of  the  sun,  has  overtaken  men  and 
women  by  the  thousand. 

Shall  we,  then,  despise  the  noonday?  Shall  we 
cover  our  eyes  from  the  light?  Shall  we  take 
refuge  from  the  sun?  Surely  not,  but  this  we 
will  do:  we  will  pick  our  steps  more  carefully 
as  we  climb  the  slope  toward  the  summit,  and 
we  will  constantly  remember  that  the  God  that 
led  us  in  the  past  must  ever  continue  to  lead  us, 
"  o'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 
the  night  is  gone."  There  is  only  one  assurance 
of  security  in  youth,  in  manhood,  and  in  age,  and 
that  is  the  security  pictured  in  this  Psalm  which 
has  been  sung  by  the  sheltered  saints  through 
all  the  centuries,  "  He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High  shall  abide  under  the 
shadow  of  the  Almighty.  I  will  say  of  the  Lord, 
He  is  my  Refuge  and  my  Fortress;  my  God,  in 
Him  will  I  trust."     Men  and  women  who  are 


The  Perils  of  the  Noonday         123 

in  the  noonday  of  life,  need  to  pray  as  they 
never  prayed  before,  and  need  to  preserve  in 
unfaihng  loyalty  the  worship  of  God  in  the  sanc- 
tuary, for  he  that  thinketh  he  standeth,  may  be 
upon  the  very  threshold  of  overthrow.  I  re- 
member, as  I  close,  that  remarkable  present-day 
parable  in  the  life  of  Jacob.  Jacob  had  had  a 
successful  business  career.  He  was  in  the  noon- 
day of  commercial  success.  His  success  had  been 
won  both  by  fair  means  and  foul,  and  upon  the 
summit  he  was  looking  back  with  no  little  de- 
gree of  satisfaction  upon  his  long  retinue  of 
retainers,  and  his  crowding  herds  and  flocks. 
And  out  of  that  situation  the  word  of  God  came 
to  him  saying,  ''  Arise,  go  up  to  Bethel,  and  dwell 
there."  That  is  the  only  security  against  the 
perils  of  the  noonday.  And  what  God  said  to 
Jacob,  He  says  to  you,  "  Go  back  to  your  first 
love,  your  first  faith,  into  the  atmosphere  in 
which  the  presence  of  God  is  realized,  and  abide 
there."  Eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  your 
salvation,  therefore  I  say  unto  you,  watch  and 
pray,  for  you  know  not  at  what  hour  your  Lord 
shall  come.  It  may  be  in  the  morning,  it  may  be 
in  the  evening,  or  perchance  it  may  be  at  the 
unexpected  hour  of  noonday,  when  the  sun  is  in 
the  sky,  that  He  will  stand  on  the  threshold 
and  ask  of  the  days  that  have  gone.  Pray  that 
at  His  coming  He  may  not  find  you  sleeping. 


X 

Winning  Our  Inheritance 

"And  the  children  of  Joseph  spake  unto  Joshua,  saying, 
Why  hast  thou  given  me  but  one  lot  and  one  part  for  an  in- 
heritance, seeing  I  am  a  great  people,  forasmuch  as  hitherto 
Jehovah  hath  blessed  mef  And  Joshua  said  unto  them,  If 
thou  be  a  great  people,  get  thee  up  to  the  forest,  and  cut 
down  for  thyself  there  in  the  land  of  the  Perizzites  and  of 
the  Rephaim;  since  the  hill-country  of  Ephraim  is  too  nar- 
row for  thee." — Joshua  17:14-15. 

HERE  is  a  story  that  is  full  of  human  in- 
terest. There  is  a  modern  touch  to  it. 
The  message  it  holds  in  its  keeping  is 
timeless,  and  the  truth  it  presents  obtains  for  us 
of  the  twentieth  century. 

The  setting  of  the  story  is  quite  familiar  and 
needs  but  a  word  or  two  of  explanation  to  make 
real  the  historic  background.  The  Israelites  had 
at  last  entered  their  Promised  Land,  the  land  of 
their  hopes,  and  their  dreams,  the  true  land  of 
"  the  pilgrim's  pride,"  a  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey  where  every  man  could  be  a  landlord 
and  a  free  man.  Already  tribal  settlements  had 
been  made  beyond  the  Jordan.  The  first  task  of 
Joshua,  the  military  governor  of  the  province, 
was  to  assign  to  the  remaining  tribes  their  in- 
heritance in  the  land.  This  assignment  is  full 
of  interest  and  all  were  satisfied  with  their  por- 
tion save  the  powerful  and  influential  tribe  of 

124 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  125 

Joseph,  made  up  of  the  children  of  Ephraim  and 
part  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh.  This  tribe,  per- 
haps the  greatest  in  power  and  prestige,  com- 
plained that  for  so  great  a  people  the  inheritance 
was  all  too  circumscribed.  If  you  will  take  the 
pains  to  locate  that  ancient  inheritance  upon  the 
map  of  Palestine  you  will  discover  that  it  lay  in 
the  most  fruitful  and  productive  section  of  that 
wonderful  country.  Nevertheless,  they  were  dis- 
satisfied and  were  the  freer  to  complain  because 
Joshua,  the  dictator,  was  also  of  their  tribe.  It 
was  inevitable  that  they  should  expect  to  be  espe- 
cially favoured,  and  to  share  exceptionally  well, 
at  his  hands.  They  were  decidedly  disappointed 
and  showed  their  disposition  in  the  dispute  here 
registered,  "  And  the  children  of  Joseph  spake 
unto  Joshua,  saying.  Why  hast  thou  given  me 
but  one  lot  and  one  part  for  an  inheritance,  see- 
ing I  am  a  great  people?" 

I  take  it  that  this  is  a  most  modern  situation. 
It  is  typical  of  our  age.  It  all  might  have  hap- 
pened yesterday,  and  it  may  all  take  place  to- 
morrow. The  people  are  legion  who  feel  that 
their  inheritance  is  altogether  too  small  and  the 
allotment  unjustly  made.  There  are  many  who 
have  not  enough.  There  are  some  who  have 
more  than  a  fair  share.  Here  is  a  man  with  a 
landed  estate  of  a  thousand,  or  a  hundred  thou- 
sand acres,  given  up  to  foreign  shrubbery,  to 
prize  stock,  to  game  preserves,  and  here  is  an- 
other man,  with  the  same  light  of  God  in  his 
soul,  inhabiting  the  corner  of  a  cabin  that  he 
dare  not  call  his  own.  One  is  born  to  the  in- 
heritance of  health  and  happiness,  another  to  the 


126  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

handicap  of  poverty  and  physical  frailty.  The 
facts  of  life  do  not  bear  out  the  truth  of  the 
statement  that  we  are  all  created  free  and  equal. 
There  is  quite  enough  ground  for  complaint  and 
there  is  *'  thunder  as  well  as  dawn  "  upon  the 
horizon  of  our  modern  social  order.  How  long 
the  rank  and  file  of  nations  will  be  satisfied  to 
inherit  a  trench,  while  kings  and  emperors  retire 
to  palaces  and  privileges,  I  do  not  know.  How 
long  the  masses  of  men  will  be  satisfied  to  look 
up  through  poverty  to  indulgent  wealth  and 
sequestered  society,  I  would  not  dare  to  proph- 
esy. How  long  young  women  and  shop  girls  will 
be  content  to  toil  through  long  hours  with  a 
meagre  margin  of  life's  luxury  for  a  self-satisfied 
and  idle  aristocracy,  I  do  not  know ;  but  let  us  not 
think  it  strange  if  the  sound  of  a  complaining 
against  the  inequality  of  the  inheritance  should 
meet  our  ears,  and  let  us  not  be  surprised  if  we 
should  hear  that  men  and  women  who  have  re- 
ceived largely  of  the  wealth  of  the  world,  seeing 
life  through  the  eyes  of  Jesus,  seek  to  share  their 
goods  with  those  who  have  fared  ill  in  the  appor- 
tionment of  the  inheritance. 

It  would  be  easy  to  play  upon  this  high- 
sounding  chord.  It  would  be  easy  to  turn  this 
sermon  into  a  sign  and  a  complaining,  to  rail  at 
life's  injustice  and  to  play  upon  its  socialistic 
creed  the  inequalities  of  life.  That  would  do 
little  good.  Let  us  rather  keep  close  to  the  nar- 
rative and  see  if  we  can  learn  the  lesson  of  life 
from  this  page  of  ancient  history.  It  is  the  spirit 
of  youth  that  is  here  restlessly  dissatisfied.  The 
tribe  of  Joseph  inherits  the  disposition  of  Joseph 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  127 

the  dreamer,  the  young  man  of  vision  and  of 
divine  discontent.  In  his  youth  he  sees  sun  and 
moon  and  stars  bowing  down  to  him,  and  reveals 
himself  as  seeking  the  steps  to  the  throne.  This 
is  youth  that  is  speaking.  It  is  the  young  physi- 
cian claiming  a  share  in  the  fame  of  the  eminent 
surgeon,  and  blaming  his  lack  of  fortune  on 
favouritism  and  social  prestige.  It  is  the  young 
lawyer  wondering  why  some  other  man  receives 
the  honour  of  the  court  room.  It  is  the  young 
clergyman  who  feels  his  qualifications  for  a 
metropolitan  pulpit  have  been  forgotten.  It  is 
the  young  business  man  looking  up  to  the  heights 
and  craving  a  share  in  the  legacy  of  luxury. 

Let  us  understand  the  setting  of  the  story.  It 
is  not  the  cry  of  poverty  for  plenty,  it  is  the  cry 
of  wealth  for  more.  It  is  not  the  tenant  who  is 
complaining  but  the  land  owner  who  is  dissatis- 
fied. It  is  not  zero  claiming  a  unit,  it  is  a  million 
calling  for  two.  It  is  a  great  people  crying  for 
a  larger  share,  a  mighty  nation  seeking  a  place 
in  the  sun.  It  is  a  young  man,  a  young  woman, 
with  brains  and  talent  and  training  and  oppor- 
tunity, crying  for  prestige  and  preferment.  It  is 
a  father  and  mother  of  influence  making  the  age- 
long request  for  their  children,  "  Grant  that  these 
my  two  sons  may  sit  one  on  thy  right  hand  and 
the  other  on  thy  left  in  thy  glory."  Underneath 
the  complaining  and  the  beseeching  is  the  rooted 
conviction  that  preferm.ent  comes  somehow  or 
other  by  chance  and  the  inheritance  through 
some  form  of  secret  influence  or  court  favourit- 
ism. "  Weak  men  believe  in  luck.  Strong  men 
believe  in  cause  and  effect." 


128  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

What  has  Joshua,  the  man  of  affairs,  to  say  to 
his  brethren  of  the  tribe  who  claim  a  larger  share 
in  the  landed  inheritance  of  the  Promised  Land? 
"  There  remains  much  land  to  be  possessed." 
That  is  his  answer  and  it  is  an  unanswerable 
answer.  ''  There  are  valleys  and  hills,  and  for- 
ests and  fields,  yonder  upon  the  slopes  and  upon 
the  mountains,  which  are  still  unpossessed  and 
unoccupied.  It  is  for  those  who  have  the  nerve 
and  the  character  to  win  them.  Get  you  up  then 
to  the  hill  top  where  now  dwell  the  Canaanites 
and  the  Perizzites  and  master  a  larger  inherit- 
ance for  yourself.  It  is  yours  for  the  winning. 
No  one  can  put  it  in  your  hand,  but  every  foot  of 
land  you  conquer,  shall  be  yours."  There,  my 
young  friends,  is  the  answer  to  your  dissatis- 
faction and  your  demand.  Go  and  win  your  in- 
heritance! Use  your  present  advantage  for  fur- 
thering your  cause.  There  is  much  land  yet  to 
be  possessed  and  it  is  waiting  your  coming.  Be- 
cause some  one  has  a  greater  share  than  you  is 
not  the  reason  for  the  narrow  margin  upon  which 
you  live.  The  inheritance  of  life,  like  the  qual- 
ity of  mercy,  is  not  strained.  The  land  is  not  yet 
all  occupied.  The  places  are  not  yet  filled.  The 
wealth  of  the  world  has  not  yet  been  gathered  in. 
There  are  vacant  places  in  the  shop  and  the 
court,  in  the  mill  and  the  college.  Because  some 
one  has  more  than  a  fair  share  does  not  take  the 
bread  from  your  mouth.  The  best  things  of  life 
multiply  as  they  are  possessed.  Because  you 
bask  in  the  sunshine  provides  no  excuse  for  my 
living  in  the  cloud,  and  your  enjoyment  of  vic- 
tory is  not  the  reason,  nor  the  cause  of  my  defeat. 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  129 

There  is  victory  and  glory  for  all.  Is  it  a  place  in 
the  councils  of  the  nations?  Do  you  seek  a  share 
in  formulating  the  laws  of  the  lands?  There  are 
still  great  vistas  in  statesmanship  to  be  con- 
quered. The  country  is  hungry  for  leadership, 
or  it  would  not  be  forced  to  follow  so  many 
falsely  so-called  leaders.  Is  it  a  place  in  the  halls 
of  culture  and  learning  that  you  crave?  It  is  only 
a  fool's  view  of  life  to  think  that  because  one  man 
has  climbed  to  fame  because  of  his  knowledge  of 
the  stars  that  there  are  no  more  stars  to  be  dis- 
covered. "  Get  thee  up  to  the  hill-country  and 
win  an  inheritance  for  thyself."  Is  it  commercial 
prestige  and  a  place  on  the  Board  of  Trade,  or 
the  Stock  Exchange,  that  holds  your  heart? 
There  are  still  undiscovered  regions  and  unex- 
plored lands  where  wealth  waits  your  discovery. 
The  wealth  of  the  world  is  not  yet  portioned  out. 
It  is  not  yet  enclosed  in  safe  deposit  vaults.  It 
is  limitless,  boundless,  fathomless.  Because  one 
man  is  a  multi-millionaire  is  not  the  reason  of 
your  poverty.  "  If  thou  wilt  be  a  great  people 
get  thee  up  to  the  forest  and  cut  down  for  thy- 
self." Yonder  are  the  hills  and  the  valleys;  the 
forests  are  waiting,  the  mines  are  crying,  the 
fields  are  calling  for  you.  Go  and  win  your  in- 
heritance. Don't  expect  favouritism  or  fortune 
to  put  it  in  your  hands.  Should  it  come  to  you 
that  way  it  might  spell  ruin  and  misfortune  to 
you.  If  you  really  seek  it  you  shall  find  it.  If 
you  will  pay  the  price  you  may  purchase  it.  The 
law  of  the  world  is  universal.  ''  Ask  and  ye  shall 
receive,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall 
be  opened  unto  you."    Do  not  covet  the  inheri- 


130  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

tance  that  has  cost  a  price  you  refuse  to  pay. 
There  are  exceptions,  notable  exceptions  to  this 
principle,  but  when  you  take  the  long  view  of 
life  the  principle  obtains. 

There  is  an  arresting  incident  in  the  life  of 
Jesus  which  I  would  have  every  young  man  and 
woman  lay  to  heart.  He  has  come  face  to  face 
with  Gethsemane,  and  the  question  of  His  des- 
tiny is  to  be  forever  sealed.  Into  the  seclusion  of 
the  last  great  conflict  He  takes  three  of  His 
choicest  friends  to  keep  vigil  with  Him  in  the 
solitude  of  His  struggle.  James  and  Peter  and 
John  stand  with  Him  on  the  threshold  of  victory, 
and  then  the  record  reads,  ''  He  went  a  little  fur- 
ther,'* and  there  alone,  a  little  further  into  the 
darkness,  a  little  further  into  the  conflict,  a  little 
further  into  the  will  of  God,  He  entered  into  the 
possession  of  the  victory  and  the  crown.  It  is 
always  so.  In  commerce,  in  war,  in  scholarship, 
in  religion,  it  is  the  last  step  that  counts. 

"  The  heights  by  great  men  reached  and  kept," 
remember  that,  "  reached  and  kept," 

**  Were  not  attained  by  sudden  flight, 

But  they,  while  their  companions  slept, 
Were  toiling  upward  in  the  night." 

What  answer  does  the  stalwart  old  soldier  re- 
ceive from  the  complainants?  They  are  not  quite 
ready  to  drink  of  the  cup  which  he  has  placed  to 
their  lips.  "  All  the  Canaanites  that  dwell  in 
the  land  of  the  valley  have  chariots  of  iron,  both 
they  who  are  in  Beth-shean  and  its  towns,  and 
they  who  are  in  the  valley  of  Jezreel."  They 
were  not  quick-witted  enough  to  understand  that 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  131 

those  chariots  of  iron  and  those  very  giants  con- 
stituted their  opportunity.  Joshua  knew  there 
was  something  better  than  land.  He  knew  that 
the  winning  of  the  inheritance  w^as  worth  far  more 
than  houses  and  hills  and  forests  and  fields.  He 
knew  that  the  winning  of  such  an  inheritance 
would  make  character  and  moral  muscle  and  men 
worth  while,  and  that  such  a  victory  in  character 
and  manhood  was  worth  more  than  money  and 
more  than  mines.  This  was  what  was  in  the 
back  of  the  mind  of  Joshua.  The  winning  of  land 
is  only  part  of  the  inheritance.  The  struggle  to 
win  brings  more  than  wealth  or  power  or  pres- 
tige, it  brings  manhood  and  moral  fibre  and 
character.  That  is  the  redeeming  feature  of  all 
business  success.  The  struggle  and  strain  bring 
more  than  wealth  can  buy.  That  is  the  great 
thing  about  life.  *'  He  that  endures  to  the  end 
shall  be  saved."  And  this  is  why  no  communis- 
tic, nor  so-called  socialistic  social  system,  with 
their  drab  equality,  can  ever  permanently  prevail. 
The  great  thing  in  life  is  not  the  inheritance  of 
lands  and  mountains  and  forests,  but  the  cour- 
age and  challenge  of  it  all  which  presuppose  as 
well  as  produce  manhood.  Said  a  retired  busi- 
ness man  to  me  the  other  day,  *'  Man,  I  wish  I 
were  back  in  it  all."  "  To  share  in  the  spoils  of 
war?  "  said  I.  ''  No,  not  that,"  was  his  reply, 
"  that  does  not  appeal  to  me,  it's  to  be  back  in 
the  thick  of  the  fight  again,  to  make  things  a  little 
better  and  a  little  cheaper  than  the  other  fellow." 
I  don't  wonder  he  was  a  success,  and  I  know  it 
was  the  winning  of  the  success  that  is  the  greater 
portion    of    his    present    sense    of    satisfaction. 


132  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

*'  Greater  is  he  that  ruleth  his  own  spirit  than  he 
that  taketh  a  city."  To  win  one's  own  soul  is 
the  best  prize  of  Hfe.  When  we  discover  this, 
then  giants  and  hills,  and  chariots  of  iron,  will 
nerve  our  will  and  inspire  our  spirits  to  victory. 

This  is  after  all  what  Browning  beautifully 
called  *'  life's  paradox."  ''  For  hence  a  paradox, 
shall  life  succeed  in  that  it  seems  to  fail?  "  The 
man  who  has  succeeded  in  winning  only  land  may 
have  lost  his  liberty,  and  he  who  has  won  on  the 
Stock  Exchange  may  have  suffered  loss  in  his 
soul.  A  man  may  win  and  yet  stand  to  lose. 
He  was  just  such  a  man  as  Jesus  described  who 
was  in  the  midst  of  scrapping  his  old  barns  for 
bigger  and  better  ones  when  out  of  the  silence  the 
call  came,  "  This  night  thy  soul  shall  be  required 
of  thee,"  and  he  had  no  soul  to  give.  What  shall 
it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world  and 
lose  his  soul?  For  a  man's  life  consisteth  not  in 
the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he  possesseth. 

Now  that  we  are  in  the  atmosphere  of  Jesus 
and  have  left  Joshua  and  his  tribe  and  the  Ca- 
naanites  and  the  Perizzites,  and  the  chariots  of 
iron  behind  us,  let  us  go  on  to  receive  the  last 
word  and  the  interpretation  of  our  inheritance 
from  our  Lord.  When  we  come  into  His  pres- 
ence He  will  ask  us  this  question,  ''  Why  seek 
you  a  larger  inheritance?"  It  is  a  searching 
and  thought-provoking  question,  for  an  inheri- 
tance of  wealth,  or  influence,  or  culture,  or  social 
standing,  is  of  value  only  as  it  becomes  an  instru- 
ment of  service.  This  is  Jesus'  point  of  view,  and 
let  us  who  are  Christians  take  our  place  where 
we  belong.    He  is  our  Lord  and  Master  and  we 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  133 

are  His  friends  and  followers.  We  hold  the 
attitude  which  expresses  itself  in  the  words, 
'*  Speak  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth."  When 
in  thought  we  follow  Him  we  come  upon  this, 
"  He  who  was  rich  yet  for  our  sakes  became 
poor  that  we  through  His  poverty  might  become 
rich."  He  who  inherited  the  glory  of  eternity 
emptied  Himself  and  took  for  the  sceptre  of  His 
power,  a  cross.  He  took  a  towel  and  girded 
Himself  for  service  saying,  "  I  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto  but  to  minister  and  to  give  My 
life  a  ransom  for  many."  In  this  use  of  His  in- 
heritance He  was  perfectly  revealing  the  Father. 
The  Eternal  God  who  holdeth  the  wealth  of 
the  world  in  His  hands  is  no  miser.  He  scat- 
tereth  the  wealth  in  forest  and  field,  in  mountain 
and  mine.  God  never  hoards  up  His  wealth. 
He  gives,  and  gives,  until  in  giving,  He  gives 
Himself.  This  is  the  Christian  idea  of  God.  The 
pagan  idea  is  of  a  god  who  ever  receives  but 
never  gives,  to  whom  sacrifices  are  offered  un- 
ceasingly but  who  himself  knows  not  the  secret 
of  sacrifice. 

Thus  it  was  that  the  Revealer  of  God  and  the 
Redeemer  of  men  came,  bearing  His  cross.  His 
message  is  always  the  same.  "  God  so  loved  that 
He  gave."  We  too  must  give.  ''  It  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  '*  He  that 
saveth  his  life  shall  lose  it."  "  Whosoever  would 
come  after  me  let  him  deny  himself  and  take  up 
his  cross  and  follow  me."  The  deepest  bless- 
ing of  life  is  not  the  receiving  of  an  inheritance 
but  the  ministry  of  that  inheritance,  not  to  gain 
but  to  give,  not  to  acquire  but  to  contribute, 


134  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

not  to  accumulate  but  to  distribute,  not  how 
much  can  I  receive  from  Hfe  but  how  greatly 
can  I  contribute  to  life.  Jesus  plucked  this  secret 
of  life  from  the  mount  of  vision  connected  with 
His  great  temptation.  There  He  stood  before 
the  paths  that  led  to  power,  and  before  Him  lay 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  and  the  glory  of 
them.  "  All  these  kingdoms  will  I  give  unto 
you."  That  is  still  the  temptation  of  youth. 
Youth  still  expects  to  receive  from  some  unseen 
hand  the  gift  of  a  priceless  inheritance.  Upon 
that  path  Jesus  turned  His  back  and  chose  the 
one  that  led  up  the  rugged  heights  to  Calvary, 
and  as  He  trod  His  lonely  road,  alone,  we  who 
have  caught  His  message  have  heard  Him  say- 
ing: "I  give  my  life,  I  came  not  to  receive  but 
to  give.  I  lay  my  life  down  of  myself.  I  came 
to  give — to  give  life."  We  too  come  with  Him  to 
that  hill  top  of  vision.  We  too  are  led  thither  by 
the  spirit  of  God  to  be  tempted  by  the  devil. 
"  All  these  kingdoms  shall  be  Thine  if  Thou  wilt 
fall  down  and  worship."  Nations  come  to  that 
hill  top  of  vision.  In  the  fall  of  1914,  Germany 
came  to  it  and  made  her  choice.  In  that  most 
interesting  recent  book  by  Mr.  Wells,  '*  Mr.  Brit- 
ling  Sees  It  Through,"  there  is  a  long  concluding 
letter  written  by  an  intensely  patriotic  Britisher 
to  an  equally  patriotic  German.  This  is  part — 
the  climax  I  think — of  that  interesting  italicized 
letter:  "  I  do  not  think  you  Germans  realize  how 
steadily  you  were  conquering  the  world  before 
the  war  began.  Had  you  given  half  the  energy 
and  intelligence  you  have  spent  upon  this  war  to 
the  peaceful  conquests  of  men's  minds  and  spirits 


Winning  Our  Inheritance  135 

I  believe  you  would  have  taken  the  leadership 
of  the  world  tranquilly,  no  man  disputing.  Your 
science  was  five  years,  your  social  and  economic 
organization  was  a  quarter  of  a  century  in  front 
of  ours.  Never  has  it  so  lain  in  the  power  of  a 
great  people  to  lead  and  direct  mankind  towards 
a  world  republic  and  universal  peace.  But  you 
hurled  all  the  accomplishment  of  Germany  into 
the  fires  of  war."  The  nation  that  saveth  its 
life  shall  lose  it. 

America  stands  today  upon  that  hill  top  of 
vision.  The  kingdoms  of  the  world  are  offered 
her,  the  world's  trade  and  commerce,  the  world's 
markets  and  finance.  That  inheritance  is  now 
hers,  and  at  her  side  the  Master  stands  asking 
the  searching  question,  ''  To  what  purpose — self- 
ishness or  service?  "  Unless  America  shall  gird 
herself  for  service,  there  is  no  call  for  her  to  enter 
the  competition  of  the  world.  Individuals,  too, 
one  by  one,  take  their  place  beside  Him  upon 
that  hill  top  of  vision.  There  the  Spirit  of  God 
grappled  with  the  spirit  of  evil,  and  there,  too, 
the  best  makes  war  upon  the  good.  How  does 
your  life  measure  up  to  this :  ''  I  came  not  to  be 
ministered  unto  but  to  minister  and  to  give  my 
life  "?  Can  you  take  your  place  in  peace  under 
the  banner  of  Him  who  enters  life  saying,  ''  I 
was  rich  yet  for  your  sakes  I  became  poor  that 
you  through  my  poverty  might  be  made  rich." 
If  that  is  too  high,  too  sacrificial,  passing  the 
possible,  how  does  your  life  hold  its  course 
against  the  current  of  a  life  that  without  apology 
could  say,  ''  What  things  were  gain  to  me,  those 
I  counted  loss  for  Christ,  yea,  doubtless  I  count 


136  Winning  Our  Inheritance 

all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus,  for  whom  I  have  suf- 
fered the  loss  of  all  things  "?  In  such  an  atmos- 
phere how  small  and  mean  appears  the  petition 
of  the  tribe  of  Joseph,  "  Why  hast  thou  given  me 
but  one  lot  and  one  part  of  an  inheritance  seeing 
I  am  a  great  people?  "  In  the  atmosphere  of  His 
life,  who,  standing  in  the  midst  of  the  world's 
need  said,  "  I  am  among  you  as  one  that  serv- 
eth,"  how  do  we  judge  our  own  life?  Do  we  not 
make  our  truest  confession  in  words  made  fa- 
miliar to  us  in  the  searching  sentiment  of  what  is 
perhaps  the  greatest  of  our  hymns? 

"  When  I  survey  the  wondrous  cross 
On  which  the  Prince  of  Glory  died, 
My  richest  gain  I  count  but  loss, 
And  pour  contempt  on  all  my  pride." 

Like  Him  we,  too,  must  go  forth  to  minister. 


XI 

The  Chief  End  of  Man 

"  Thus  saith  Jehovah,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his 
wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,  let 
not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches;  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  hath  understanding,  and  knoweth  me, 
that  I  am  Jehovah  who  exerciseth  loving  kindness,  justice 
and  righteousness  in  the  earth,  for  in  these  things  I  delight, 
saith  Jehovah."— Jeheuiab.  g :  23-24. 

THIS  is  one  of  the  great  answers  of  the 
Old  Testament  to  the  question,  ''  What  is 
man's  chief  end?  "  It  is  a  timeless  ques- 
tion. Our  fathers  made  it  the  very  first  of  all 
questions,  and  answered  it  in  their  own  great 
way,  that  ''  Man's  chief  end  is  to  glorify  God  and 
to  enjoy  Him  forever."  Perhaps  that  answer 
may  still  be  familiar  to  a  few  of  us.  It  is  a  com- 
pliment to  the  man  who  asks  a  question  such 
as  this,  and  it  is  surely  a  tribute  to  any  man  who 
answers  it  as  the  fathers  of  old  answered  it. 

There  are  many  ends  in  life,  but  there  must 
be  one  supreme  end.  We  are  meant  of  course  to 
enjoy  life,  to  use  it,  to  possess  it,  but  after  all 
there  must  be  one  great  end  in  which  all  other 
ends  find  their  fulfilment. 

And  it  will  make  a  great  difference  to  us  as  to 
how  we  define  that  end  and  how  we  relate  our 
life  to  it.    It  will  make  a  very  great  difference  as 

137 


138  The  Chief  End  of  Man 

to  whether  you  say  with  Ingersoll  in  his  own 
great  way,  his  inimitable  way, — when  he  says  in 
a  vein  of  real  poetry,  ''  Life  is  a  narrow  vale  be- 
tween the  cold  and  barren  peaks  of  two  eternities. 
We  strive  in  vain  to  look  beyond  the  heights. 
We  cry  aloud  and  the  only  answer  is  the  echo  of 
our  wailing  cry."  It  will  make  a  great  difference 
whether  we  speak  of  life  in  Ingersoll's  agnostic 
style,  or  whether  we  say  with  Gladstone,  the 
great  Christian  statesman,  "  Be  inspired  with  the 
belief  that  life  is  a  great  and  noble  calling;  not 
a  mean  and  grovelling  thing  that  we  are  to 
shuffle  through  with  as  best  we  can,  but  an  ele- 
vated and  lofty  destiny."  It  is  the  first  and  last 
question  of  life. 

Last  week  I  passed  a  great  building  in  the 
course  of  construction,  down  in  the  heart  of  our 
commercial  life.  Beside  it  there  is  an  ofifice  with- 
out furniture  and  without  any  particular  attrac- 
tiveness. All  that  it  apparently  contains  is  the 
plan  of  the  architect,  the  blue  prints  which  con- 
tain the  diagrams  of  the  coming  structure.  There 
the  workmen  seek  their  guidance  and  following 
it,  in  due  time  we  will  see  the  vision  of  the  archi- 
tect realized.  The  men  who  are  at  work  in 
mortar  and  in  stone  are  working  according  to  a 
plan  and  by  and  by  that  plan  will  be  perfected. 
In  the  great  work  of  building  a  life  we  need  a 
plan,  a  purpose,  an  end: 

"Poor  vaunt  of  life  indeed 
Were  man  but  formed  to  feed 
On  joy,  to  solely  seek  and  find  the  feast; 
Such  feasting  ended,  then 
As  sure  an  end  to  men." 


The  Chief  End  of  Man  139 

What  then  is  the  chief  end  of  life?  There  are 
many  ways  of  wording  the  answer,  but  this  great 
answer  of  the  Old  Testament  prophet  is  as  good 
as  any  and  is  subtly  suggestive.  It  suggests 
quite  plainly,  I  take  it,  that  the  end  of  a  man's 
life  is  the  same  end  which  is  clearly  visible  in 
the  life  of  God.  The  purpose  and  aim  of  the 
divine  life  ought  to  become  the  aim  and  end  of 
all  human  life,  for  is  not  man  made  in  the  image 
of  God,  partaker  of  the  divine  nature  and  pos- 
sessor of  the  same  likeness? 

There  are  not  two  worlds,  this  world  and  the 
next,  a  secular  and  a  sacred.  There  is  one  world 
and  the  purpose  of  this  world  is  being  worked 
out  in  the  great  plan  and  life  of  God,  the  Maker 
of  all.  We  are  partners  in  the  plan,  we  are  co- 
workers together  with  God.  There  is  one  world. 
John  Ruskin  tells  us,  that  from  the  hour  when 
Raphael  painted  upon  the  walls  of  the  Vatican 
his  two  great  pictures,  on  one  side  "The  King- 
dom of  Theology"  presided  over  by  Christ,  and 
on  the  other  ''  The  Kingdom  of  Poetry  "  pre- 
sided over  by  Apollo,  the  downfall  of  Itahan  art 
began.  There  is  only  one  King  and  one  King- 
dom, one  Life  and  one  Ideal,  and  this  Old  Testa- 
ment prophet  saw  as  clearly  as  could  be  seen  that 
there  could  be  but  one  real  purpose  both  for  God 
and  man  alike.  They  are  possessors  of  Hfe  and 
immortaHty  and  in  God,  man  finds  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  highest  destiny. 

This  is  why  the  prophet  cast  aside  as  worthless 
some  of  the  great  ends  of  life  men  follow  after. 
"  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  nor 
the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  strength,  nor  the 


140  The  Chief  End  of  Man 

rich  man  glory  in  his  riches."  The  great  things 
which  many  men  strive  after  are  not  worthy  to 
become  the  chief  things  of  Hfe — knowledge, 
power  and  wealth.  These  are  the  three  king- 
doms of  this  world  which  were  revealed  to  Jesus 
on  the  mount  of  His  temptation,  and  which 
tempt  every  one  of  us, — the  kingdom  of  science, 
the  kingdom  of  force  and  the  kingdom  of  wealth. 
They  are  not  worthy  to  be  lifted  up  into  the 
realm  of  ends.  They  are  means.  God  does  not 
seek  after  them,  and  they  are  not  worthy  for 
man  whose  aim  and  end  is  to  be  God-like. 

Look  at  science.  Who  would  glory  in  science 
as  an  end  in  itself?  Great  are  its  wonders  and 
its  discoveries,  but  it  is  not  worthy  to  claim  our 
worship  and  our  homage.  For  a  generation  we 
have  been  falling  down  and  worshipping  at  the 
shrine  of  science,  and  its  work  and  mission  in  the 
world  have  been  most  wonderful,  but  it  is  not 
worthy  to  receive  our  worship.  It  is  capable  of 
being  misused.  At  this  very  hour  it  is  turning 
thousands  of  men  to  destruction.  In  itself  it  is 
a  blind  guide  and  may  lead  on  into  the  dark.  It 
has  led  thousands  out  into  the  night.  The  best 
that  Haeckel,  the  great  German  scientist,  can 
say  after  he  has  thought  out  all  the  facts  of  life 
as  he  has  known  them  is  just  this,  "  The  best  we 
can  desire  after  a  courageous  life  spent  in  doing 
good  according  to  our  light  is  the  eternal  peace 
of  the  grave."  That  is  all!  Science  can  never  be 
an  end  for  it  is  never  final.  The  science  of  today 
becomes  the  superstition  of  tomorrow,  and  how 
small  is  the  area  of  our  knowledge  in  comparison 
with  the  boundless  and  eternal  Infinite.    '*  Canst 


The  Chief  End  of  Man  141 

thou  by  searching  find  out  God?  Canst  thou  find 
out  the  Almighty  unto  perfection?  It  is  high  as 
heaven;  what  canst  thou  do?  Deeper  than 
Sheol;  what  canst  thou  know?  The  measure 
thereof  is  longer  than  the  earth,  and  broader 
than  the  sea."  He  hung  the  earth  upon  noth- 
ing. He  counts  the  numbers  of  the  stars.  Let 
us  be  humble  for  the  secret  things  belong  unto 
God. 

Let  no  man  glory  in  his  strength.  The  will 
to  power  is  a  poor  path  for  the  children  of  men. 
The  devotees  at  the  shrine  of  power  are  crushed 
even  as  they  worship.  "  He  that  takes  the  sword 
shall  perish  with  the  sword."  Goliath  is  still 
stalking  through  the  land  defying  the  armies  of 
the  Living  God.  We  laugh  at  Goliath  today. 
Goliath,  who  measures  ten  feet,  with  his  coat 
of  mail  and  his  spear  like  a  weaver's  beam !  We 
laugh  at  him,  and  we  wonder  what  God  thought 
of  him.  But  we  are  caught  in  the  same  strange 
hallucination  today.  We  hold  our  breath  at  the 
machine  guns  and  high  explosives.  God  still 
laughs  at  our  show  of  power.  "  He  that  sitteth 
in  the  heavens  will  laugh :  The  Lord  will  have 
them  in  derision.  Then  will  He  speak  to  them 
in  His  wrath,  and  vex  them  in  His  sore  dis- 
pleasure :  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of 
iron;  Thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  pot- 
ter's vessel."  All  power  is  His  in  heaven  and  in 
earth.  He  touches  the  hills  and  they  smoke. 
Why  should  we  glory  in  a  show  of  power,  which 
is  but  weakness  when  looked  at  in  the  presence 
of  God,  the  Almighty? 

Neither  is  wealth  worthy  of  our  worship.    The 


142  The  Chief  End  of  Man 

monarchs  of  capital  think  they  can  reform  and 
remake  the  world,  but  all  of  men's  millions  can- 
not make  one  single  man  good.  God  scatters 
His  gold  like  sunshine,  and  all  the  wealth  of  the 
world  is  His.  Scientists  tell  us  that  there  is 
enough  gold  in  the  sea  to  make  every  man  a  mil- 
lionaire. The  very  streets  of  the  New  Jeru- 
salem are  paved  with  gold.  Gold  is  one  of  the 
things  that  we  hold  and  handle,  one  of  the 
instruments  for  our  use,  but  it  is  not  sufficient 
to  satisfy  the  deepest  longings  of  life  and  is  not 
worthy  to  receive  the  homage  of  our  hearts.  It 
is  not  an  end  in  itself.  It  is  a  means  to  an  end, 
and  it  may  be  so  used  that  it  will  blight  and  mar 
life,  or  it  may  be  used  to  contribute  to  the  great 
supreme  mission  and  end  of  life. 

God  does  not  care  for  these  things  in  them- 
selves. He  does  not  glory  in  them,  and  the 
prophet  suggests  that  if  God  finds  them  un- 
worthy, then  they  are  not  worthy  of  us.  God 
does  not  glory  in  His  knowledge,  nor  in  His 
power,  nor  in  His  wealth.  They  are  not  ulti- 
mate ends  for  Him.  God  can  strip  Himself  of 
those  great,  high  sounding  attributes  such  as 
omniscience  and  omnipotence,  and  can  reveal 
Himself  in  the  helpless  form  of  a  little  child  and 
still  manifest  the  great  end  and  mission  of  His 
life.  The  Incarnation  is  the  revelation  of  the 
essential  heart  of  God,  and  God  found  a  little 
child  sufficient  for  that  revelation. 


They  were  looking  for  a  King 

To  smite  their  foes  and  Hft  them  high 
And  lo !  a  little  baby  thing 

That  made  a  woman  cry." 


The  Chief  End  of  Man  143 

Jesus  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  these 
great  consuming  world  ambitions.  He  limited 
Himself  in  His  knowledge.  You  will  fail  if  you 
go  to  Him  for  science.  There  were  some  things 
He  confessed  He  did  not  know,  for  after  all 
science  is  not  salvation.  There  were  some  things 
He  could  not  do.  He  limited  Himself  in  His 
power.  He  turned  His  back  upon  the  allure- 
ment and  the  temptation  to  enforce  His  will  upon 
men.  Again  and  again  He  stood  helpless  before 
the  great  problems  of  His  life.  He  could  not 
break  through  the  stubborn  wills  of  men.  He 
looked  upon  the  city  that  He  loved,  and  cried, 
"  O  Jerusalem,  Jerusalem,  that  killeth  the 
prophets,  and  stoneth  them  that  are  sent  unto 
thee !  how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy 
children  together  even  as  a  hen  gathereth 
her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye  would 
not!'' 

He  knew  nothing  of  wealth.  We  are  told  that 
*'  He  emptied  Himself."  ''  Though  He  was  rich, 
yet  for  your  sakes  He  became  poor,  that  ye 
through  His  poverty  might  become  rich."  There 
was  no  cradle  He  could  call  His  own  and  they 
laid  Him  in  a  manger  in  the  stable.  There  was 
no  bed  of  ease  on  which  He  could  rest  and  they 
laid  Him  on  the  cross.  Nevertheless,  He  re- 
vealed life  at  its  best,  and  the  high  aim  of  God's 
life,  and  of  all  our  human  life.  This  is  the 
argument  of  the  prophet.  These  things  that 
count  so  much  with  men  count  little  with  God. 
God  does  not  glory  in  them,  why  should  you 
set  your  hearts  upon  them?  "  Let  not  the  wise 
man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty 


144  The  Chief  End  of  Man 

man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not  the  rich  man 
glory  in  his  riches." 

What  then  are  the  things  that  count  with 
God?  What  is  the  great,  chief  end  of  the  divine 
nature  which  must  also  be  the  chief  end  of 
our  human  nature?  Here  are  the  things  in 
which  God  delights:  lovingkindness,  justice  and 
righteousness.  These  things  abide  :  kindness  and 
goodness,  lovingkindness  and  righteousness,  and 
they  abide  when  all  else  suflfers  shock. 

Let  us  look  at  them  briefly  for  they  are  the 
manifestation  of  the  character  of  God. 

Kindness  is  an  end  in  itself.  Kindness  is  love 
manifesting  itself  towards  the  needy.  It  is  the 
same  word  as  the  word  mercy.  It  is  heard  sing- 
ing its  message  in  the  Old  Testament,  '*  Oh,  that 
men  would  praise  the  Lord  for  His  goodness." 
It  is  realized  and  expanded  and  demonstrated  in 
the  New  Testament.  One  of  the  very  first  words 
that  Jesus  spoke  about  God  was  this,  ''  He  is 
kind  toward  the  unthankful  and  evil."  To  men 
without  distinction  He  bestowed  His  favours, 
and  He  made  it  the  basis  of  all  judgment  in  that 
last  great  day  when  He  will  sit  upon  His  throne 
and  before  Him  all  nations  are  gathered.  I  was 
sick,  and  you  were  kind.  I  was  in  prison,  and  you 
were  kind.  I  was  hungry,  and  you  were  kind. 
1  was  naked,  and  you  were  kind. 

This  is  the  first  mark  in  a  life  that  is  like  God. 
His  way  is  the  way  of  kindness.  There  are  two 
sentences  that  come  back  to  me  out  of  my  read- 
ing which  have  taken  hold  upon  me.  One  is  by 
the  great  Scotch  preacher,  Thomas  Chalmers: 
"  Write  your  name  by  kindness,  love  and  mercy 


The  Chief  End  of  Man  145 

on  the  hearts  of  the  thousands  you  come  in  con- 
tact with  year  by  year  and  you  will  never  be  for- 
gotten." The  other  is  by  Henry  Drummond  and 
is  found  in  one  of  his  greatest  sermons  where 
he  speaks  of  having  travelled  over  all  the  world 
and  having  seen  in  Japan,  China,  India  and 
Africa,  and  in  his  own  homeland  and  in  ours,  all 
the  beautiful  things  which  God  has  made,  but  as 
he  looked  back  over  his  life  only  two  or  three 
events  stood  out  in  unforgotten  remembrance, 
"  those  little  almost  forgotten  acts  of  kindness 
and  of  love.  And  these  seem  to  be  the  only 
things  that  abide." 

I  think  we  may  well  ask  ourselves  the  ques- 
tion :  Why  are  we  not  kinder  to  one  another  than 
we  are?  It  is  the  only  thing  after  all  that  abides. 
Years  after  he  had  gone  to  his  reward  and  been 
buried  among  the  great  and  the  good  in  West- 
minster Abbey,  people  who  crossed  his  tracks 
in  the  great  dark  continent  heard  the  natives 
who  remembered  him,  speak  of  him  in  hushed 
tones  as  "  the  kind  doctor."  And  after  we  have 
spoken  of  his  skill  and  his  great  genius  the  thing 
that  abides  in  our  thought  of  David  Livingstone 
is  the  kindness  of  his  life  in  word  and  deed. 
Knowledge  passeth  away,  power  is  often  help- 
less, but  kindness  never  fails. 

But  kindness  in  God  is  undergirded  in  right- 
eousness. He  is  kind  but  He  does  not  lower  His 
standard.  Kindness  is  love  manifested  toward 
the  needy.  Righteousness  is  love  manifested 
toward  the  sinful.  If  we  are  to  be  like  God  and 
find  the  great  end  of  life  we  must  be  righteous 
as  well  as  kind.    I  suppose  Catherine  Booth  was 


146  The  Chief  End  of  Man 

one  of  the  kindest  of  Christians.  The  sight  of 
pain  and  sorrow  almost  nauseated  her,  and  yet 
in  speaking  to  her  followers  who  were  touched 
by  the  same  spirit  of  mercy  she  said,  **  We  will  go 
in  more  and  more  for  righteousness."  That  was 
the  standard  which  Jesus  raised  when  He  called 
men  to  their  best.  In  Him  righteousness  and 
kindness  kiss  each  other.  We  remember  Jesus 
with  His  holy  indignation,  His  white  heat  toward 
all  sorts  of  injustice  and  oppression.  His  impa- 
tience with  wrong  and  wrong-doers,  and  we 
know  that  without  those  elements  of  strength 
He  would  not  be  to  us  what  He  is. 

God  delights  in  righteousness.  He  will  do 
anything  to  have  men  pure  and  holy,  just  and 
good.  He  will  go  to  the  cross  and  be  made  sin 
for  them  that  they  may  be  made  the  righteous- 
ness of  God.  Let  us  set  before  us  this  same 
high  standard.  Let  us  be  patient  with  others. 
Let  us  be  patient  even  with  ourselves.  In  the 
old  classical  story  you  remember  how  Ceres 
came  to  the  home  of  Celeus  where  she  found  a 
little  child  moaning  its  life  out  in  its  mother*s 
arms.  The  goddess  took  the  little  lad  in  her 
arms  and  kissed  him  back  to  love  and  life,  and 
then  in  her  desire  to  give  the  greatest  gift  within 
her  power  to  the  woman  who  had  befriended  her, 
she  took  the  lad  while  his  mother  slept  and  laid 
him  among  the  dying  embers  of  the  fire  in  order 
to  give  him  the  great  gift  of  immortality.  The 
little  child  played  with  the  ashes  until  the  fire 
broke  into  flame  and  the  affrighted  mother 
roused  from  her  sleep  snatched  from  the  hearth 
the  child  of  her  love  and  folded  him  to  her  heart. 


The  Chief  End  of  Man  147 

It  was  then  the  goddess  revealed  herself.  "  I 
wanted,"  she  said,  "  to  give  your  child  the  best  I 
had  but  you  have  snatched  him  from  my  hands 
and  refused  for  his  sake  the  gift  of  immortality." 
In  our  impatience  we  do  the  same  thing  with 
God.  He  puts  us  in  the  fire  that  He  might  bring 
us  forth  as  gold  but  we  are  afraid  and  draw  away 
even  from  His  love  and  miss  the  best  He  has  for 
us.  It  is  His  will  to  make  us  perfect.  It  is  His 
will  that  we  should  be  holy.  "  When  He  has 
tried  me  I  will  come  forth  as  gold."  That  is  His 
delight,  and  to  attain  unto  the  fulfilment  of  His 
will  in  us  and  in  all  men,  is  the  chief  end  and  mis- 
sion of  our  lives. 

To  be  like  God  in  kindness  and  in  truth  this 
then  is  the  chief  end  of  man,  for  to  be  like  Him  in 
righteousness  and  mercy  is  the  only  way  by 
which  we  can  enjoy  and  glorify  Him.  Righteous- 
ness without  kindness  may  be  cold  and  uninvit- 
ing. Kindness  without  truth  may  be,  must  be, 
empty  and  hypocritical.  The  greatest  thing  in 
the  world  is  after  all  not  a  thing  at  all,  but  a  life, 
a  human  life,  lived  as  God  Himself  would  live 
it.  *'  A  man  after  God's  own  heart  "  is  heaven's 
highest  praise.  This  is  our  task  and  this  in  time 
will  be  our  triumph.  In  the  words  of  James  Rus- 
sell Lowell,  "  The  kind  of  world  one  carries  in 
one's  self  is  the  important  thing;  the  world  out- 
side takes  all  its  grace  and  colour  and  value  from 
that."  There  is  only  one  end  and  that  is  char- 
acter, all  else  is  means  to  that  great  end. 

And  through  it  all  we  see  Jesus.  Again  and 
again  we  come  back  to  Him.  We  turn  away 
from  theory  to  reality  and  we  find  it  in  Him. 


148 


The  Chief  End  of  Man 


We  behold  Him  full  of  grace  and  truth.  There 
you  have  it  again,  grace  and  truth,  kindness  and 
righteousness.  With  Him  as  a  guide  no  one  ever 
missed  the  path.  Correggio  with  the  passion  for 
art  that  burned  in  his  soul  looked  upon  the  great 
painting  of  the  master  and  studied  and  thought 
it  out,  forgetting  himself  in  it  until  the  genius 
of  Raphael  became  for  him  a  master  passion  and 
looking  upon  the  great  ideal  that  lured  him  on, 
his  soul  took  fire  and  he  said,  "  I  too  am  a 
painter."  So  do  we  as  we  look  upon  the  char- 
acter of  Christ  find  the  great  response  rise  up  in 
our  hearts,  the  identification  of  our  very  best 
with  Him,  and  in  our  failure  and  in  our  love  we 
too  cry,  **  I  too  am  a  Christian."  He  embodies 
the  chief  end  of  man,  and  what  He  is,  He  enables 
us  to  become. 

"  Yea,  thro'  life,  death,  thro'  sorrow  and  thro'  sinning, 
He  shall  suffice  me,  for  he  hath  sufficed : 
Christ  is  the  end,  for  Christ  was  the  beginning, 
Christ  the  beginning,  for  the  end  is  Christ." 


XII 
The  King  of  Peace 

"  After  that.  King  of  Peace." — Hebrews  7 :  2. 

y^FTER  that.  King  of  Peace.  Peace  then 
y^  is  not  primary;  it  is  secondary.  It  is 
-^ -^  not  causal;  it  is  consequential.  It  is  not 
the  root  but  the  fruit.  It  is  not  a  source;  it  is  a 
result.  It  is  not  a  gift;  it  is  an  achievement.  It 
is  not  a  seed-sowing;  it  is  a  harvest.  It  is  not 
the  beginning ;  it  is  the  end.  It  does  not  precede ; 
it  follows  after,  like  the  glory  on  the  eastern 
hills  that  comes  only  after  the  sunrise. 

After  that,  King  of  Peace.  After  what?  Some- 
thing is  first  for  peace  evidently  comes  second. 
What  then  is  first?  The  writer  is  speaking  of 
one  of  those  obscure  characters  in  Hebrew  his- 
tory whose  life  is  veiled  in  obscurity  and  mys- 
tery, that  very  mystery  adding  colour  and  sig- 
nificance to  his  memory  and  his  name.  He  is  a 
symbol,  a  type,  of  the  Christ  that  is  to  be.  This 
man's  name  was  Melchizedek,  which  by  inter- 
pretation means  King  of  Righteousness.  His 
throne  was  at  Salem,  perhaps  the  ancient  name 
of  Jerusalem,  the  City  of  Peace,  and  that  leads 
the  writer  to  a  further  explanation,  "  First,  King 
of  Righteousness,  and  after  that.  King  of  Peace." 
What  was  foreshadowed  back  in  the  dawn  of  his- 

149 


1^0  The  King  of  Peace 

tory,  is  now  revealed  in  the  Hght  of  the  Christ- 
mas glory,  for  Christ,  also,  is  first  of  all  King  of 
Righteousness  and  after  that  King  of  Peace. 
"  His  name  shall  be  called  Wonderful,  Coun- 
sellor, Mighty  God,  Everlasting  Father,  Prince 
of  Peace.  Of  the  increase  of  His  government 
and  of  peace,  there  shall  be  no  end,  upon  the 
throne  of  David  and  upon  his  kingdom,  to  estab- 
lish it,  and  to  uphold  it  with  justice  and  with 
righteousness,  from  henceforth  even  forever." 
He  is  first  of  all  King  of  Righteousness,  and  after 
that.  King  of  Peace. 

This,  then,  is  the  divine  order,  the  divine  order 
for  Jesus  as  well  as  for  Melchizedek,  the  divine 
order  also  for  you  and  for  all  the  children  of  men. 
It  is  the  refrain  that  is  heard  through  all  the 
record  of  Revelation.  It  is  heard  in  the  Psalms: 
"  The  mountains  shall  bring  peace  to  the  people 
and  the  little  hills  in  righteousness."  '*  Right- 
eousness and  peace  have  kissed  each  other."  It 
is  heard  in  the  Prophets :  "  The  work  of  right- 
eousness shall  be  peace  and  the  efiPect  of  right- 
eousness, quietness  and  confidence  forever."  It 
is  heard  in  the  Gospel:  "The  fruit  of  righteous- 
ness is  sown  in  peace  for  them  that  make  peace." 
"  The  Kingdom  of  God  is  righteousness  and 
peace  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Spirit."  *'  Being  justi- 
fied by  faith  " — that  is,  being  declared  righteous 
— "  we  have  peace  with  God  through  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ."  It  is  as  sure  as  the  harvest.  He 
that  soweth  righteousness  shall  reap  peace. 
There  is  no  other  way. 


The  King  of  Peace  151 


In  Things  Pertaining  to  Character  It  Is  True 

There  can  be  no  peace  of  heart  until  there  is 
righteousness  of  Hfe.  Uneasy  Hes  the  head, 
where  there  is  a  guilty  conscience.  The  paths 
of  righteousness  are  beside  the  still  waters. 
*'  The  wicked  are  like  the  troubled  sea  that  can- 
not rest,  its  waters  cast  up  mire  and  dirt.  There 
is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked."  Peace 
and  a  quiet  heart  are  the  fruit  of  a  right  life.  A 
friend  was  explaining  to  me  the  other  day  an 
invention  he  had  perfected  by  means  of  which 
weak  places  in  steel  rails  could  be  detected,  and 
I  could  see  immediately  the  importance  and  value 
of  what  he  had  worked  out.  You  know  that 
sand  holes  and  air  cavities  often  work  themselves 
into  the  very  hidden  places  of  a  steel  rail  or 
girder  and  make  the  product  which  we  trust, 
defective  and  untrustworthy.  The  perfected  in- 
strument passes  over  the  steel  and  reveals  the 
place  of  weakness,  thus  guaranteeing  security. 
Your  peace  and  safety  depend  upon  the  right- 
ness  of  that  steel  construction  over  which  you 
and  your  loved  ones  pass;  and  as  it  is  with  steel, 
so  it  is  with  the  lives  of  men :  peace  and  security 
come  through  righteousness.  Peace  is  not  a  by- 
product of  faith,  it  is  the  first  fruit  of  a  true  life. 
In  the  peace  and  patience  of  a  quiet  heart  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh  lay  down  to  die,  saying:  "  It  mat- 
ters not  how  the  head  lies  if  the  heart  be  right." 
When  his  life  was  wrong  Paul  struggled  through 
the  Dr.  Jekyll  and  Mr.  Hyde  experience  of  the 


152  The  King  of  Peace 

seventh  chapter  of  Romans,  torn  with  conflicting 
passions,  flung  back  against  the  storm,  crying 
in  the  night  of  his  helplessness,  "  O  wretched 
man  that  I  am!  "  When  his  life  was  right  with 
God  and  men  and  himself  he  is  the  confident  con- 
queror of  the  eighth  chapter,  watching  from  the 
hill  top  of  victory  the  surging  battle  at  his  feet, 
and  in  the  peace  that  precedes  victory  he  ex- 
claims: "We  are  more  than  conquerors.  .  .  . 
For  I  am  persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor  life, 
nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height, 
nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able 
to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord."  In  the  stillness  the  dew 
falls  and  from  the  tree  of  righteousness  the  fruit 
of  peace  is  gathered.  A  right  life  means  a  quiet 
heart. 

II 

In  Things  Pertaining  to  Society  the  Same  Principle 

Holds  True 

If  the  social  order  is  torn  with  confusion  and 
noisy  with  tumult,  it  is  because  somewhere  in  the 
social  order  there  is  injustice  and  iniquity.  If 
the  mechanism  of  our  civic  and  social  life  is 
grinding  and  grating  upon  the  ears  of  our  gen- 
eration, it  is  because  some  foreign  substance, 
some  grit,  something  that  should  not  be  there 
has  gotten  into  the  running  gear,  and  all  the  oils 
of  philanthropy  and  all  the  unctuousness  of  our 
charity  will  not  keep  us  from  having  our  teeth 
set  on  edge.    There  must  be  social  justice  before 


The  King  of  Peace  153 

there  can  be  social  peace;  there  must  be  social 
surgery  before  there  can  be  social  health. 

There  is  something  vastly  more  important 
than  peace.  There  is  nothing  the  devil  desires 
more  than  to  hear  people  singing  about  peace, 
for  it  is  a  false  peace  which  makes  the  sin  and 
the  shame  of  our  great  cities  possible.  There  is 
nothing  the  devil  and  sin  and  darkness  and  crime 
and  iniquity  and  political  roguery  desire  so  much 
as  peace.  At  His  birth  the  angels  sang  the 
world's  peace  anthem  and  His  name  is  the  Prince 
of  Peace,  but  it  was  Jesus  Himself  who  said,  "  I 
came  not  to  send  peace  upon  the  earth  but  a 
sword,"  and  the  last  vision  we  catch  of  Him 
before  the  record  ends  is  this :  "  I  saw  the 
Heaven  opened:  and  behold,  a  White  Horse,  and 
He  that  sat  thereon  was  called  Faithful  and 
True:  and  in  righteousness  He  doth  judge  and 
make  war." 

Wherever  He  goes  He  is  the  disturber  of  a 
false  peace.  Every  one  of  His  words  is  sharper 
than  a  two-edged  sword.  His  Gospel  is  like  salt, 
and  salt  stings  and  burns  before  it  purifies  and 
heals.  His  truth  is  like  leaven,  and  leaven  is  a 
fermenting,  agitating,  exciting,  ever-changing, 
transforming  thing.  His  presence  is  like  light 
and  before  His  coming  evil  things  that  grovel 
and  hide  in  the  darkness  are  revealed  to  their 
own  undoing.  His  church,  sworn  to  preach 
peace,  set  the  cities  of  Europe  in  an  uproar,  and 
provoked  her  accusers  to  say,  ''  These  that  have 
turned  the  world  upside  down  have  come  hither 
also."  Wherever  there  is  anything  wrong  side 
up,  it  is  the  business  of  the  church  to  turn  it 


154  The  King  of  Peace 

wrong  side  down,  whether  it  has  its  dwelUng 
place  in  the  cottage  of  the  poor  or  the  palace  of 
the  rich  or  the  legislative  halls  of  the  nation. 
When  Jesus  came,  ''  Herod,  the  king,  was  trou- 
bled and  all  Jerusalem  with  him." 

It  is  a  heartening  sign,  therefore,  that  we  are 
so  conscious  of  the  discords  of  our  present  social 
order.  There  never  was  a  time  when  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  people  were  more  sympa- 
thetic and  kind  and  willing  to  help.  There  never 
was  an  age  when  people  were  more  willing  to 
make  personal  sacrifices  and  to  serve  their  fellow 
men.  I  believe  the  recent  words  of  John  Morley 
are  true  words,  "  I  know  people  who  hate  their 
own  luxury,  and  if  anybody,  any  statesman, 
would  tell  them  how  by  stripping  themselves  of 
this  or  that  luxury  they  would  lighten  the  lot  of 
those  whose  lot  is  hard,  they  would  do  it."  Let 
us  take  heart.  These  are  hopeful  days  in  which 
we  live,  days  of  human  sympathy,  days  that  are 
restless  with  the  stirring  of  a  mighty  springtime. 
It  is  a  living  poet  who  says : 

"  The  Spirit  that  moved  upon  the  deep, 
Is  moving  on  the  minds  of  men; 
The  nations  feel  it  in  their  sleep, 
A  change  has  touched  their  dreams  again. 

The  dawn,  the  dawn  is  on  the  wing, 

The  stir  of  change  on  every  side, 
Unsignalled  as  the  approach  of  spring, 

Invincible  as  the  hawthorn  tide." 

Believe  it  then,  that  it  is  not  the  change  of  a 
decaying  autumn,  but  the  stirring  of  the  restless 
life  of  spring  that  is  abroad  in  our  land. 


The  King  of  Peace  155 


III 

What  Is  True  of  Individuals  and  Society,  Is  also 

True  of  Nations.     The  Principle  Holds, 

First  Righteousness,   and   after 

that,  Peace 

It  is  the  tragedy  of  our  Christmas  season  that 
the  blast  of  the  war  trumpet  is  heard  in  the  land 
and  that  the  bells  in  the  church  towers  are  all 
but  silenced.  We  know  now  that  the  Christmas 
bells  have  not  rung  out  the  thousand  wars  of 
old  and  we  hardly  dare  to  hope  that  they  are 
ringing  in  the  thousand  years  of  peace.  The 
Pope  has  lifted  his  hand  to  still  the  tumult  and 
the  shouting,  that  we  might  hear  without  re- 
proach the  message  of  the  angels,  *'  Peace  on 
earth,  good  will  to  men."  But  he  has  prayed  and 
pleaded  in  vain. 

"  It's  forth  we  must,  alone,  alone, 
And  try  to  find  the  way ; 
The  bells  that  we  have  always  known- 
War  broke  their  hearts  today. 

"  I  heard  them  stumble  down  the  air 
Like  seraphim  betrayed ; 
God  must  have  heard  their  broken  prayer 
That  made  my  soul  afraid." 

Let  US  have  faith  in  God.  Clouds  and  dark- 
ness are  round  about  Him,  righteousness  and 
judgment  are  the  habitation  of  His  throne,  and 
Righteousness  is  the  root  of  which  Peace  is  the 
fruit.  Things  have  not  been  right  among  the 
nations.    *'  God  does  not  pay  at  the  end  of  every 


156  The  King  of  Peace 

week,"  said  Anne  of  Austria  to  Richelieu,  "  but 
at  the  end  He  pays."  And  now  at  the  end  of  this 
age  of  international  suspicion  and  racial  jealousy, 
the  bloody  harvest  of  hate  is  being  paid.  Things 
are  not  right,  and  until  they  are  right  there  can 
be  no  permanent  and  enduring  peace.  It  is  not 
right  for  nations  to  hate  each  other.  It  is  not 
right  to  glorify  war.  It  is  not  right  to  say  that 
national  and  individual  morality  have  different 
standards  of  morals.  It  is  not  right  for  nations 
to  break  solemn  pledges.  It  is  not  right  to  sub- 
jugate weak  nations.  It  is  not  right  to  call  weak- 
ness the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost.  It  is  not 
right  to  deify  power,  to  rob  the  poor,  to  perpetu- 
ate poverty  for  political  policies;  and  until  things 
are  right  there  can  be  no  enduring  peace.  In  the 
maps  of  the  fifteenth  century  one  can  still  see  an 
undefined,  unexplored  and  mysterious  section 
bearing  the  significant  inscription,  Hie  sunt  leones. 
Here  are  the  lions.  There  have  been  in  the 
national  policies  of  modern  nations,  undefined, 
mysterious,  suspicious  sections  of  intrigue  and 
diplomacy,  over  which  we  must  write  the  words, 
"  Here  are  the  lions."  And  until  those  lions  are 
discovered  and  slain  there  can  be  no  assurance 
of  security,  no  coming  of  the  Prince  of  Peace. 
He  comes  over  a  highway  of  Righteousness.  I 
think  it  possible  that  Jesus  may  not  have  been 
speaking  of  the  end  of  the  world,  but  the  end  of 
the  age  of  national  injustice  and  racial  prejudice 
when  He  said,  **  And  when  we  shall  hear  of  wars 
and  tumults,  be  not  terrified;  for  these  things 
must  needs  come  to  pass  first;  but  the  end  is  not 
immediately."     He  is  first  King  of  Righteous- 


The  King  of  Peace  157 

ness,  and  after  that,  King  of  Peace.  In  the  midst 
of  conflict  and  confusion  of  arms,  weary  of  war, 
the  prophet  of  the  Old  Testament  cried  out,  ''  O 
thou  sword  of  the  Lord,  how  long  will  it  be  e'er 
thou  be  quiet  ?  Put  up  thyself  into  thy  scabbard ; 
rest  and  be  still."  And  the  sword  of  the  Lord 
replied,  *'  How  can  it  be  quiet,  seeing  Jehovah 
hath  given  it  a  charge?  " 

First  Righteousness,  and  after  that,  Peace. 
Knowing  this  we  are  wiUing  to  wait  God's  time, 
resting  our  confidence  upon  this  law  of  life  which 
is  the  eternal  law  of  God,  that  out  of  the  pain 
there  will  come  forth  peace,  and  out  of  the 
tumult  there  will  come  a  new  and  higher  national 
righteousness;  a  righteousness  based  upon  the 
law  of  God  revealed  in  the  words  and  deeds  of 
Jesus  Christ,  the  King  of  nations,  and  out  from 
that  new  and  righteous  relation  will  come  forth 
peace. 

IV 

This  Principle  that  Runs  Through  All  Life  Is  True 

of  God 

With  God  as  well  as  with  men,  holiness  is 
first.  Without  holiness  no  man  can  see  God. 
He  is  first  of  all  King  of  Righteousness,  and 
after  that,  King  of  Peace.  First  the  cradle  of 
humiliation  and  the  cross  of  sacrifice,  and  then 
the  Easter  Morning  and  the  Resurrection  glory. 
Christmas  Day  is  not  as  it  has  sometimes  been 
called,  the  festival  of  babyhood,  but  the  mani- 
festation, through  our  humanity,  of  the  Eternal 
God.     The  Word  became  flesh.     It  is  the  right- 


1 58  The  King  of  Peace 

eous  God  through  holy  love,  emptying  Himself, 
taking  upon  Himself  the  form  of  a  servant,  being 
made  in  the  likeness  of  men.  It  is  the  beginning 
of  His  atoning  v^ork,  vi^hich  is  finished  only  with 
the  cross. 

We  are  in  some  danger,  I  think,  of  evolving  a 
religion  that  has  no  need  for  a  cross.  Such  a 
religion,  wherever  it  has  appeared,  has  been  both 
effeminate  and  inefBcient.  The  cross  in  history 
and^  in  Christian  experience  testifies  to  the 
moral  character  of  God  and  His  invincible  right- 
eousness. If  you  will  turn  to  the  record  this  is 
what  you  will  read :  *'  He  made  peace  through  the 
blood  of  the  cross."  *'  In  Christ  Jesus,  ye  who 
were  afar  off  are  made  nigh  in  the  blood  of 
Christ.  For  He  is  our  peace  who  hath  made 
both  one  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall 
of  partition,  having  abolished  in  His  flesh  the 
enmity,  so  making  peace."  "  Him  who  knew  no 
sin,  He  made  to  be  sin  on  our  behalf;  that 
we  might  become  the  righteousness  of  God  in 
Him."  I  do  not  understand  all  that  the  cross 
means  and  I  never  expect  to  understand  all,  but 
I  know  that  it  is  God's  judgment  on  unrighteous- 
ness, that  it  is  His  sentence  upon  sin  and  His 
pledge  of  peace  to  a  world  that  seeks  shelter  in 
the  time  of  storm,  and  I  know  that  the  Tree  of 
Righteousness  planted  there  on  Calvary,  deep 
rooted  in  the  eternal  character  of  the  All  Holy 
God,  still  blossoms  and  bears  the  fruit  of  love, 
joy,  peace,  throughout  the  world. 

The  earliest  record  of  the  Christian  Church 
tells  us  that  the  Apostles  were  commissioned  to 
go    everywhere,    *'  preaching    good    tidings    of 


The  King  of  Peace  1^9 

peace,  by  Jesus  Christ/'  and  then  there  is  added 
the  significant  explanatory  sentence,  "  He  is 
Lord  of  All."  Preaching  peace  by  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  Lord  of  all.  First  King  of  Righteousness, 
and  after  that,  King  of  Peace.  The  other  day 
a  leading  educator  was  telling  a  New  York  audi- 
ence that  the  ethics  of  Jesus  had  failed.  I  do  not 
know  exactly  what  he  means  by  the  ethics  of 
Jesus.  If  I  understand  the  ethics  of  Jesus,  they 
are  an  effect  and  not  a  cause.  Love  and  peace 
and  good  will  are  first  of  all  not  forces,  but 
fruits  of  righteousness.  We  must  crown  Him 
first  before  we  can  live  under  the  shelter  of  His 
peaceful  reign  and  that  is  just  what  men  and  na- 
tions refrain  from  doing.  We  have  not  yet  put 
the  government  upon  His  shoulders.  The  fruit 
of  righteousness  is  peace.  We  must  crown  Him 
Lord  of  all.  There  is  a  song  the  children  some- 
times sing,  "  Praise  Him,  praise  Him,  all  ye  little 
children."  Sitting  at  the  piano  with  my  little  lad 
the  other  day  we  were  singing  it  together.  It  is 
one  of  those  children's  songs  that  run  on  through 
endless  verses,  satisfying  and  suggestive.  We 
had  sung  it  through  as  I  thought,  '*  Praise  Him, 
praise  Him,  all  ye  little  children;  Love  Him,  love 
Him,  all  ye  little  children;  Serve  Him,  serve 
Him,  all  ye  little  children."  When  I  stopped  he 
looked  up  into  my  face  surprised,  still  expectant 
and  said :  "  But  father,  you  forgot  to  crown 
Him."  And  so  we  sang,  "  Crown  Him,  crown 
Him,  all  ye  little  children." 

When  we  begin  to  think  it  over  we  are  confident 
that  the  little  lad  is  right.  We  have  forgotten  to 
crown  Him.    We  have  praised  Him  with  words 


i6o  The  King  of  Peace 

of  eloquent  eulogy  and  with  music  of  winsome 
melody.  We  have  loved  Him,  flattered  Him, 
sympathized  with  Him,  admired  Him,  imitated 
Him,  but  we  have  forgotten  to  crown  Him.  We 
have  forgotten  that  He  is  a  King.  He  is  Lord  of 
all.  He  is  first  of  all  King  of  Righteousness, 
and  after  that,  King  of  Peace.  When  Thorwald- 
sen  was  asked  his  birthday,  he  replied:  ''  I  don't 
know.  I  came  for  the  first  time  to  Rome  in 
March,  lygy.''  Nothing  else  mattered.  There 
he  got  his  vision  and  there  he  got  his  power. 
All  else  was  forgotten  in  that  great  gift.  Com- 
ing to  Jesus,  we  will  find  our  vision  and  our 
power,  and  when  Jesus  is  crowned  King  of 
Righteousness,  peace,  abundant  peace,  will  fill 
the  hearts  and  homes  of  our  redeemed  humanity. 

"Give  the  King  thy  judgments  O  God, 
And  thy  righteousness  unto  the  King's  son, 
He  shall  judge  thy  people  with  righteousness, 
And  thy  poor  with  judgment. 
The  mountains  shall  bring  peace  to  the  people, 
And  the  little  hills,  by  righteousness. 
In  His  day  shall  the  righteous  flourish, 
And  abundance  of  peace,  so  long  as  the  moon  endureth. 
His  name  shall  endure  forever  ; 
His  name  shall  be  continued  as  long  as  the  sun, 
And  men  shall  be  blessed  in  Him, 
All  nations  shall  call  Him  blessed." 


XIII 
The  Christmas  Benediction 

"Remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  He  Himself 
said.  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." — Acts  20 :  35. 

HERE  is  a  word  of  Jesus  that  has  sHpped 
out  of  its  place.  It  is  the  only  word, 
spoken  in  the  days  of  His  flesh,  found 
in  the  New  Testament  outside  the  four  Gospels. 
How  Paul  happened  to  discover  it,  I  do  not 
know.  How  Matthew,  Mark,  Luke  and  John 
came  to  overlook  it,  and  pass  it  by,  I  cannot 
guess.  From  whom  Paul  heard  the  words,  so 
easily  recognized  as  belonging  to  Jesus,  he  does 
not  disclose,  but  he  alludes  to  them  as  being  part 
of  the  familiar  faith  of  the  church  of  his  day. 
Every  word  of  Jesus  is  like  gold;  we  treasure  it 
and  hold  it  like  a  priceless  jewel,  and  when 
scholars  give  to  the  world  an  ancient  manuscript 
that  purports  to  contain  a  word  of  His,  all  the 
world  takes  time  to  hear  and  to  heed.  Out  of 
the  ruins  they  have  brought  forth  some  words 
that  contain  the  paradoxical  flavour  of  the  Mas- 
ter's thought.  This  they  have  found,  "  Wher- 
ever they  are  .  .  .  and  there  is  one  alone  .  .  . 
I  am  with  him."  We  feel  Jesus  might  have 
spoken  that  word.  It  has  His  touch.  "  Raise 
the  stone  and  thou  shalt  find  me;  cleave  the 

161 


1 62         The  Christmas  Benediction 

wood  and  there  I  am."  That  too  might  have 
passed  His  Hps,  and  this,  *'  He  who  wonders 
shall  reign  and  who  reigns  shall  rest."  From 
the  ruined  past  they  seem  to  come  forth  winged 
with  light  as  from  the  presence  of  His  purity. 
Whatever  doubt  clings  to  these  long-buried 
sentences,  there  is  no  hesitation  in  accepting  this 
overlooked  and  all  but  forgotten  word  recovered 
by  the  great  Apostle,  **  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive." 

What  a  word  it  is !  There  are  world  revolu- 
tions contained  in  its  philosophy.  It  has  in  it 
the  making  and  marring  of  kingdoms  and  dynas- 
ties. It  makes  possible  the  establishment  and 
the  overthrow  of  empires.  It  is  the  most  revolu- 
tionary word  in  history.  The  world's  way  is  not 
to  give  but  to  get,  not  to  contribute  but  to  gain, 
and  to  grasp,  and  to  receive.  It  is  a  world  con- 
demning, a  history  challenging,  a  soul  awaken- 
ing word  that  bids  us  not  only  believe  but  to 
act  on  the  motto,  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive." 

Let  us  be  perfectly  honest.  We  all  confess 
to  the  joy  of  receiving.  It  is  blessed  to  receive. 
There  is  joy  and  pleasure,  and  marvellous  hap- 
piness in  receiving.  Watch  the  faces  of  little 
children  and  learn  of  life.  The  meaning  of  Jesus' 
soul-stirring  words  open  to  us  only  as  we  get  the 
meaning  of  this  word  often  upon  His  lips, 
"  blessed."  It  is  more  blessed  to  give.  What 
does  that  mean?  Certainly  we  will  not  follow  any 
one  who  tries  to  make  us  believe  that  it  is  more 
pleasant,  more  joyous  to  give  than  to  receive. 
What  joy  there  is  in  receiving  gifts  of  love,  and 


The  Christmas  Benediction  163 

friendship,  of  smiles  and  sunshine!  There  is  a 
ministry  in  receiving  as  well  as  in  giving.  It 
requires  character  and  Christ-like  diplomacy  to 
receive  v^ell.  There  is  joy  and  a  rejoicing  that 
knows  no  tears  in  Christ's  reception  of  the 
precious  gifts  of  love.  Nevertheless  the  word  is, 
"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give."  What  is  blessed- 
ness? Suppose  we  substitute  for  this  difficult 
and  highly  coloured  word,  a  simpler  one.  Sup- 
pose we  substitute  the  word  '*  life  "  for  the  word 
"  blessed  "  and  read,  "  There  is  more  of  life  in 
giving  than  in  receiving."  That  will  bring  us 
into  the  meaning  of  Jesus'  wonderful  words. 

Life  as  you  know  from  experience  may  be 
broad  and  expansive,  or  it  may  be  narrow  and 
limited.  Herbert  Spencer  defines  life  as  "  cor- 
respondence with  environment."  The  wider  the 
touch  with  the  world  the  fuller  Hfe  will  be.  Bi- 
ologists tell  us  that  life  even  in  the  last  analysis 
resides,  not  in  a  single  cell,  but  in  an  altogether 
mysterious  relation  between  microscopic  parti- 
cles. Life  exists  only  in  relation.  The  broader 
that  relationship  is  the  broader  and  deeper  life 
will  be.  Civilization  and  culture,  and  above  all 
faith,  enlarge  the  horizon  of  man's  interests  and 
fill  life  full.  In  the  old  days  when  our  own  great 
west  was  being  discovered,  the  pioneer  farmers 
lived  a  precarious  existence  because  their  margin 
between  comfort  and  want  depended  upon  wheat. 
They  related  themselves  to  only  one  harvest, 
and  if  that  failed  famine  stalked  unashamed 
across  the  prairie.  Times  are  different  now,  and 
if  one  harvest  fails  there  is  another  and  instead 
of  having  only  wheat,  there  are  corn  and  barley, 


164         The  Christmas  Benediction 

and  oats  and  fruit  and  cattle  if  not  on  a  thousand 
hills,  yet  on  far-stretching  plains.  Life  has  be- 
come related  to  a  larger  environment.  This  was 
the  Preacher's  meaning  in  the  familiar  words, 
*'  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the  waters,  and  thou  shalt 
find  it  after  many  days."  What  he  meant  to 
say  was,  **  Sow  your  seed  in  many  soils;  do  not 
put  all  your  eggs  into  one  basket;  send  out  your 
cargoes  into  all  the  seas,  so  that  if  the  storm 
should  break  some  will  sail  safely  into  harbour." 
"  Your  ventures,"  in  Antonio's  words,  will  not 
be,  "  in  one  bottom  trusted,  nor  to  one  place,  nor 
is  your  whole  estate  upon  the  fortune  of  this 
present  year."  Life  takes  on  new  value  with  new 
investments,  and  has  a  new  meaning  when  larger 
interests  fill  the  mind. 

This  then  is  the  revolutionary  message  of  the 
Master.  Giving  develops  and  enlarges  life.  The 
climax  of  the  merely  receptive  is  the  miser.  Giv- 
ing purifies  the  soul,  as  Galilee  is  purified  by  the 
outflowing  Jordan.  Receiving  and  retaining,  as 
does  the  Dead  Sea,  corrupts  and  destroys.  The 
world's  way  is  to  get.  Christ's  way  is  to  give. 
The  world  is  forever  getting  and  grasping  and 
in  the  end  losing,  while  Christ's  way  of  giving 
leads  to  ever  fuller  life.  "  He  that  loseth  his 
life  shall  save  it." 

The  early  church  somehow  overlooked  this 
transforming  word  of  the  Master  until  Paul  re- 
covered it,  and  set  it  like  a  jewel  in  the  crown  of 
early  Christianity.  The  church  of  the  twentieth 
century  needs  to  recover  the  same  message.  It 
is  the  very  word  our  age  needs.  The  world's 
way  has  been  tried  and  has  led  to  failure  and 


The  Christmas  Benediction  165 

disaster  and  to  nations  all  but  bled  white  with 
war.  It  is  not  an  easy  word  to  learn,  but  we 
must  learn  it.  We  are  on  the  eve  of  a  new  era 
in  the  world's  history  and  unless  we  are  willing 
to  take  our  Lord  seriously  and  to  follow  where 
He  leads,  we  will  return  again  to  the  paths  of 
the  past.  In  a  most  interesting  book,  '*  Our 
Heredity  from  God,"  the  author  argues  that 
God  has  in  the  course  of  the  world's  history 
turned  a  new  page  every  five  hundred  years. 
His  analysis  is  interesting.  He  begins  back  in 
2000  B.C.  and  points  out  that  at  that  time  Abra- 
ham was  journeying  from  the  land  of  his  father, 
the  first  pathfinder  of  faith,  looking  for  a  city 
that  had  foundations  whose  builder  and  maker  is 
God;  and  at  the  same  time,  India  was  awakened 
by  the  religious  message  of  Brahmanism.  Five 
hundred  years  went  by  and  in  1500  B.C.  God 
turned  another  page  of  history  and  we  see  Moses, 
the  great  emancipator,  guiding  the  leaders  of  the 
world  out  of  Egyptian  slavery;  and  at  the  same 
time  Manu  was  promulgating  his  laws  for  South- 
ern Asia.  Five  hundred  years  again  pass,  and 
about  1000  B.C.  another  page  of  history  is  turned 
and  David  sits  upon  the  throne  of  Israel  in  his 
glory  singing  his  immortal  Psalms,  and  Homer  at 
the  same  time  is  singing  his  songs  in  Greece. 
Five  hundred  years  again  go  by  and  in  Babylon 
the  Jews  are  entering  through  the  portal  of  sor- 
row and  tears  into  the  true  heritage  of  faith, 
Confucius  is  giving  China  her  moral  code, 
Buddha  is  calling  India  to  world  renunciation, 
and  in  Greece  Socrates  is  drinking  the  hemlock. 
Five  hundred  years  pass  and  Jesus  comes,  gath- 


i66         The  Christmas  Benediction 

ering  up  into  Himself  all  the  scattered  rays  of 
light  into  the  white  purity  of  His  own  Person, 
the  light  of  the  world,  the  light  and  life  of  men. 
Another  five  hundred  years  wing  their  flight  and 
the  world  is  visited  by  Mohammed  calling  the 
people  back  from  idolatry  to  faith  in  the  unseen, 
looo  A.D.  saw  the  Roman  Church  settling  herself 
for  world  conquest  and  Hildebrand  is  enthroned. 
Five  hundred  years  pass  and  in  1500  a.d.  Luther 
challenges  the  conscience  of  his  age  and  sounds 
the  battle  cry  of  freedom.  Now  we  are  at  the 
crucial  500  year  period  again,  and  it  seems  as  if 
we  can  see  the  unseen  Hand  in  the  very  act  of 
turning  another  page.  We  are  in  the  midst  of 
the  bloodiest,  the  most  brutal  of  all  world  wars, 
but  it  is  not  the  story  of  the  war  that  is  of  su- 
preme interest,  but  the  story  of  the  war's  after- 
math. What  will  God  write  upon  this  new  page, 
which  He  is  turning  under  our  very  eyes?  Will 
it  not  be  the  awakening  of  the  world  to  faith  and 
service,  and  to  the  realization  of  this  nearly  for- 
gotten word  of  Christ,  '*  It  is  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive*'?  This  I  believe  is  the  revela- 
tion that  this  new  age  is  discovering  to  a  world 
at  war. 


It  is  this  message  the  nation  must  learn.  I 
notice  the  words  "  America  first  "  becoming  more 
and  more  familiar  to  our  people.  Let  us  ask  the 
question,  "  First  in  what?  "  To  America,  as  to 
Solomon,  God  is  saying,  "  Ask  of  me  what  thou 
wouldst?"  What  is  it  in  these  formative  days 
America  dares  to  ask  of  God?    Will  she  be  satis- 


The  Christmas  Benediction  167 

fied  to  ask  wealth?  Egypt  and  Babylon  asked 
and  received  wealth  and  golden  glory,  and  today 
we  look  back  upon  their  palaces  and  their  pyra- 
mids, to  their  rivers  that  washed  the  lands  with 
gold,  to  their  armies  of  slaves,  and  their  spice- 
embalmed  kings  all  wrapped  in  silence  and  sleep 
where  moth  and  rust  doth  corrupt,  and  we  won- 
der if  America  will  ask  God  for  gold.  Will  she 
ask  power?  Imperial  Rome  asked  and  received 
world  power,  and  we  look  back  to  her  with  the 
nations  chained  to  her  chariot  wheels,  the  blood 
of  people  and  princes,  drained  to  feed  her  thirst 
for  blood.  We  see  the  Rome  that  once  was,  "  a 
roofless  ruin  "  and  we  wonder  if  America  will  be 
content  with  power. 

And  yet  both  wealth  and  power  are  neutral 
things.  We  do  wrong  to  abuse  wealth  and 
power.  They  are  dead  things  until  some  hand 
lifts  them  up  and  bids  them  go  on  errands  of 
good  or  evil.  They  are  instruments  God  can 
use  if  they  be  put  in  His  hands.  Surely  the 
Christmas  story  of  the  wise  men  is  significant, 
in  that  they  dedicate  to  Him,  their  Lord,  gold 
and  frankincense  and  myrrh,  and  is  it  not  worth 
thinking  about  that  the  last  word  of  the  Bible 
tells  of  the  nations  of  the  earth  bringing  their 
glory  and  their  honour  into  the  Kingdom  of 
God's  grace  and  goodness?  What  will  America 
do  with  her  wealth  and  her  power?  Will  she 
use  them  for  selfish  purposes  or  for  world  serv- 
ice? America  has  more  to  give  the  world  than 
armies  and  navies.  Those  were  the  gifts  of 
nations  that  now  sleep  the  sleep  of  death.  Amer- 
ica must  give  more  than  Assyria,  or  Rome,  or  any 


i68  The  Christmas  Benediction 

of  the  pagan  powers  of  the  past.  She  must  give 
ideals  and  sympathies,  the  love  of  righteousness, 
fidelity  to  truth  as  between  nation  and  nation, 
and  hold  the  torch  of  liberty  so  illumined  by  pur- 
ity of  purpose,  and  nobility  of  service  for  the 
highest,  that  all  nations  will  say,  ''  Come,  let  us 
go  up  to  Washington,  and  she  shall  teach  us  of 
her  ways,  and  we  will  walk  in  her  step,  for  out 
of  Washington  shall  go  forth  the  law,  and  the 
word  of  Jehovah  from  America." 


II 

The  Church  of  Christ  must  lead  the  nations 
into  this  great  secret  of  service.  The  House  of 
the  Lord  must  be  first  in  the  thought  of  the 
nation,  and  she  must,  like  her  Lord,  set  the  ex- 
ample of  sacrifice.  Too  long  has  she  follow^ed 
the  world's  principle  of  getting.  To  the  Roman 
pontiff  who  pointed  to  the  gold  in  the  coffers  of 
St,  Peter  and  said  to  Thomas  Aquinas,  **  You 
see,  Thomas,  Peter  can  no  longer  say,  *  Silver 
and  gold  have  I  none ! '  "  "  No,"  replied  Thomas, 
"neither  can  she  say,  *  In  the  name  of  Jesus  of 
Nazareth,  rise  up  and  walk! '  "  Think  for  a  mo- 
ment of  the  Christmas  message.  It  tells  the 
story  of  God  emptying  Himself  of  His  glory  and 
taking  the  form  of  our  humanity.  The  life  of 
God  is  one  of  sacrificial  giving.  Think  for  a 
moment  of  the  Easter  message.  It  shows  us  our 
Lord  standing  with  open  hands  ministering  to 
human  sorrow  and  human  need.  When  will  the 
church  which  He  has  purchased  with  His  own 
blood  learn  to  open  her  hands?     The  world  is 


The  Christmas  Benediction  169 

dying  of  heart  hunger,  and  the  church  has  bread 
and  to  spare.  If  the  nations  will  not  minister, 
if  governments  will  not  serve,  if  legislators  must 
play  politics,  while  men  are  dying,  then  let  the 
church  give  herself  to  this  service  in  the  name 
of  her  Lord,  and  gird  herself  for  ministering.  It 
is  only  as  she  goes  forth  losing  herself  that  she 
saves  her  soul. 

The  church  of  Zanzibar  is  built  over  the  old 
slave  market,  and  Christianity  thrives  and  grows 
strong  only  as  she  builds  upon  the  graves  of 
human  slavery  and  man's  last  enemy — sin.  The 
church  is  the  body  of  Christ.  In  the  great  sacra- 
mental feast  we  say  the  sacred  words,  *'  This  is 
my  body  broken  for  you."  In  this  same  spirit  of 
sacramental  faith  the  church  which  is  His  spirit- 
ual body,  must  say  to  a  world  trying  to  find  its 
way  back  to  God,  ''  This  is  my  body  broken  for 
you."  She  must  not  stand  idly  by  in  the  days  that 
are  now  upon  us,  and  the  days  that  are  soon  to 
dawn,  and  allow  organizations  which  have  not 
her  life,  nor  her  divine  leadership,  to  render 
superior  service.  To  find  herself,  and  save  her 
life,  the  Church  of  Christ  must  lose  herself  in 
true  and  Christlike  sacrifice. 


Ill 

This,  too,  is  the  lesson  you  and  I  must  learn  if 
we  are  to  help  God  write  the  new  page  of  history 
in  letters  of  living  light.  The  policy  of  getting 
and  grasping,  of  having  and  holding,  is  not  big 
enough  to  develop  the  infinite  capacity  of  the 
human  soul.    There  is  not  enough  of  life  in  it.    A 


170  The  Christmas  Benediction 

policy  that  is  self-centred  carries  with  it  no  lease 
of  life.  We  must  learn  in  a  new,  and  in  a  more 
real  way,  how  to  give  ourselves  for  the  world, 
and  the  heartening-  thing  about  our  age  is  that  in 
spite  of  all  our  misgivings,  men  and  women  are 
in  a  wonderful  and  beautiful  way  learning  the 
secret.  Not  long  ago  one  of  the  leading  bankers 
of  our  country,  a  man  widely  known,  was  called 
into  the  eternal  life  to  give  an  account  of  his 
stewardship,  and  before  his  death  he  ordered 
these  words  graven  upon  the  marble  that  would 
mark  his  grave : 

"What  I  spent,   I   saved, 
What  I  kept,  I  lost, 
What  I  gave,  I  kept." 

I  suppose  he  was  thinking  and  speaking  of 
wealth,  of  which  he  had  a  full  share,  but  there  are 
many  things  the  world  needs  more  than  wealth, 
more  than  bread  and  baskets  for  the  poor,  more 
than  charity  and  cups  of  cold  water.  The  world 
needs  love  and  friendship  and  words  of  helpful- 
ness, and  loving  kindness,  and  it  is  given  to  the 
poorest  among  us  to  give  the  choicest  of  gifts. 
The  greatest  givers  have  always  been  poor. 
Jesus  had  no  place  to  lay  His  head,  and  was 
born  in  a  cattle  shed.  Peter's  word  is  true 
through  all  the  centuries,  ''  Silver  and  gold  have 
I  none  but  such  as  I  have  give  I  thee."  The 
best  things  of  life  are  beyond  the  price  of  silver 
and  gold.  There  is  so  much  the  folk  about  you 
really  need  more  than  your  money.  They  need 
encouragement,  for  life  is  hard  and  heavy  for 
most.    They  need  forgiveness  for  all  have  given 


The  Christmas  Benediction  171 

offence,  and  helped  to  cloud  the  lives  of  others 
who  have  burdens  enough.  We  can  give  friend- 
ship instead  of  suspicion,  magnanimity  instead  of 
jealousy,  kindness  for  cold  formality  and  hospi- 
tality for  selfishness.  We  can  "  be  to  other  souls 
the  cup  of  strength  in  some  great  agony."  We 
can  **  beget  the  smiles  that  have  no  cruelty." 
We  can  out  of  love  and  Christ-like  friendliness 
give  good  gifts  to  men.  What  day  could  be  bet- 
ter to  step  out  upon  this  platform  than  this  day! 
This  is  the  day  the  Lord  has  made,  and  this  is 
the  best  of  all  days  to  open  the  hand,  and  enter 
into  life. 

"  We  shall  do  so  much  in  the  days  to  come, 

But  what  will  we  do  today? 
We  shall  give  our  gold  in  a  princely  sum, 

But  what  will  we  give  today? 
We  shall  lift  the  heart  and  dry  the  tear, 
We  shall  plant  a  hope  in  the  place  of  fear, 
We  shall  speak  the  words  of  love  and  cheer, 

But  what  will  we  do  today  ?  " 


XIV 
The  Great  War  and  the  Kingdom  of  God 

"And  they  shall  bring  the  glory  and  the  honour  of  the  na- 
tions into  it." — Revelation  21 :  26. 

IT  is  an  old  dream.  It  is  a  dream  as  old  as 
Hebrew  history,  a  sort  of  gleam  on  the  hori- 
zon of  the  world.  One  wonders  if  it  will 
ever  be  realized.  The  singers  of  Israel  sang  of 
it:  "And  the  daughters  of  Tyre  shall  be  there 
with  a  gift."  "  The  kings  of  Tarshish  and  of  the 
isles  shall  bring  presents;  the  kings  of  Sheba 
and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts.  Yea,  all  kings  shall 
fall  down  before  Him;  all  nations  shall  serve 
Him."  The  prophets  were  lured  on  by  the  vision 
of  it,  a  vision  of  the  time  when  all  nations  would 
say,  "  Come,  let  us  go  up  to  the  mountain  of  the 
House  of  the  Lord." 

We  have  seen  in  history  an  approximation  to 
this  prophecy.  Constantine  sought  to  erect  on 
the  shores  of  the  Bosporus,  in  the  city  which 
bears  his  name,  an  eternal  monument.  In  "  The 
Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  "  Gibbon 
gives  us  a  vivid  picture  of  how  Constantine  laid 
under  tribute  the  whole  world  to  enrich  the  city 
of  his  dreams  and  his  desires.  Millions  of  money 
were  set  aside  for  the  construction  of  walls,  por- 
ticos and  aqueducts.     The  great  forests  over- 

172 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     173 

shadowing  the  shores  of  the  Black  Sea  were 
searched  and  sacrificed,  and  the  white  marble 
quarries  of  Proconnesus  rendered  up  their 
choicest  treasures  to  enrich  the  capital.  Magis- 
trates of  distant  provinces  were  directed  to 
supply  professors,  scholars  and  artists.  The  im- 
mortal masterpieces  of  Phidias  and  Lysippus 
scattered  over  neighbouring  territories,  together 
with  the  trophies  of  memorable  wars  and  the 
finished  statues  of  gods  and  heroes,  of  sages 
and  poets,  were  gathered  to  contribute  to  the 
splendid  triumph  of  Constantinople.  The  glory 
and  the  honour  of  nations  were  brought  into  it. 
But  it  was  not  of  such  a  city  that  the  Hebrew 
people  dreamed  and  for  which  they  prayed  and 
planned. 

Their  dream  was  a  dream  of  a  city  of  God,  a 
city  with  invisible  foundations,  a  city  of  happi- 
ness and  of  holiness,  a  city  of  righteousness  and 
peace,  a  city  where  the  hideous  things  of  life 
were  missed  and  the  dreams  of  centuries  real- 
ized. Nor  is  that  dream  visionary.  We  have  all 
dreamed  it.  God  pity  us  if  we  have  not.  We 
dream  of  a  city  where  wealth  and  glory  and 
honour  contribute  to  human  happiness  and  moral 
character,  where  material  riches  and  power  are 
transformed  and  made  subservient  to  moral  ends. 
This,  indeed,  is  the  great  question  before  our 
modern  world.  Here  it  is  in  a  word:  ''Shall 
material  things  be  ends  in  themselves?"  Shall 
civilization  contribute  merely  to  its  own  main- 
tenance? Shall  the  nation  exist  for  the  purpose 
of  creating  wealth  and  building  up  power,  or 
shall  it  exist  to  contribute  to  a  more  distant  pur- 


174     The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

pose  and  be  subservient  to  something  higher? 
This  great  world  war  brings  us  face  to  face  with 
the  challenge  and  the  claim  of  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  that  the  nations  with  their  glory  and  their 
honour,  with  their  wealth  and  their  power,  are 
not  ends  in  themselves  but  are  to  be  subservient 
to  a  higher  purpose  and  to  contribute  to  the  en- 
richment of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  Unless  this 
great  world  war  is  just  "  a  dog  fight  in  the  front 
street  of  the  world,"  then  it  is  the  clash  of  great 
ideas  and  the  conflict  of  opposing  forces.  Two 
ideals  of  life  are  at  death  grips,  and  it  is  ours  to 
grapple  with  the  situation  and  understand  the 
mystery  and  message  of  this  greatest  world  war. 
The  conflict  is  not  new,  but  it  is  new  in  crisis. 
The  conflict  is  as  old  as  life.  It  was  of  it  that 
Kipling  was  thinking  when  he  said: 

"  For  heathen  heart  that  puts  her  trust 

In  reeking  tube  and  iron  shard, 
All  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust, 

And  guarding,  calls  not  Thee  to  guard, 
For  frantic  boast  and  foolish  word — 

Thy  mercy  on  Thy  people,  Lord ! " 

There  you  have  it.  On  the  one  hand  you  have 
a  civilization  which  is  an  end  in  itself.  It  is 
"  valiant  dust  that  builds  on  dust."  On  the  other 
hand,  you  have  a  civilization  that  "  guarding 
calls  on  God  to  guard,"  a  civilization  not  ful- 
filled in  itself,  but  made  subservient  to  moral  and 
ethical  purposes,  bringing  its  glory  and  honour 
into  the  Kingdom  of  God. 

What  light,  then,  we  ask,  does  the  Great  War 
throw  upon  the  problem  of  foreign  missions  and 
the  winning  of  the  world  for  Christ?     Can  we, 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     175 

out  of  the  conflict,  catch  some  clear  command  and 
discover  some  highway  of  hope  for  the  fulfil- 
ment of  the  Hebrew  dream  and  the  enthrone- 
ment of  the  Christian  ideal  of  the  City  and  King- 
dom of  God? 


Consecration  of  Nationalism 

The  great  war  has  brought  us  face  to  face  with 
the  consecration  of  nationalism.  This  is  not  a  war 
of  nation  against  nation,  but  a  war  of  allied 
nations.  No  nation  lives  to  itself,  and  no  nation 
dies  to  itself.  Abraham  Lincoln  was  quite  aware 
that  the  struggle  of  the  Civil  War  was  more  than 
national.  It  was  international.  He  wrote  it  into 
his  immortal  message  when  he  said  that  America 
was  struggling  to  prove  *'  whether  this  nation, 
or  any  nation,  could  exist  half  slave  and  half  free." 
The  Civil  War  was  not  a  local  conflict,  the  issue 
of  which  had  no  international  significance.  The 
whole  world  breathed  in  a  new  and  purer  air 
when  triumph  came  to  the  cause  of  righteous- 
ness and  human  freedom.  And  it  matters  greatly 
to  all  the  world  what  the  issue  of  this  war  will  be. 
The  tides  of  victory  will  touch  our  shores  as  they 
touch  the  shores  of  Europe  and  of  Asia.  The 
statesmen  and  politicians  who  think  that  America 
can  live  apart  like  a  lone  star  are  indulging  a 
soft  hope  that  can  never  be  realized.  The  law  of 
God  is  stronger  than  the  law  of  man.  God  forced 
this  nation  out  of  its  isolation  years  ago.  It  was 
God's  hand  that  extended  the  boundaries  of  the 
nation  out  to  the  Pacific  and  down  to  the  borders 


176     The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

of  Mexico.  It  was  God's  hand  that  led  America 
into  the  warm  waters  around  Cuba,  and  out  into 
the  Pacific  to  the  islands  of  the  Philippines.  Every 
great  nation  has  had  its  responsibilities  thrust 
upon  it.  No  great  empire  ever  said:  "  Go  to!  let 
us  build  an  empire  like  this  or  like  that,"  and 
then  went  and  accomplished  its  dream.  Nations 
and  empires  do  not  so  grow.  They  grow  and 
develop  reluctantly,  little  by  little,  and  America 
has  been  shoved  ofiF  the  ledge  of  self-con- 
tented isolation  out  into  world  diplomacy  and 
international  interests,  so  that  she,  too,  might 
contribute  her  share  to  the  making  of  an  entire 
new  world. 

Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  writings  of 
Treitschke,  sometimes  he  spoke  wise  words. 
"  The  whole  content  of  civilization,"  he  says, 
"  cannot  be  realized  in  a  single  state.  In  no 
single  people  can  the  virtues  of  aristocracy  and 
democracy  be  found  combined.  All  peoples,  like 
individual  men,  are  one-sided,  but  in  the  very 
fulness  of  this  one-sidedness  the  richness  of  the 
human  race  is  seen.  The  rays  of  the  divine  light 
only  appear  in  individual  nations  infinitely 
broken.  Each  one  exhibits  a  different  picture 
and  a  different  conception  of  divinity."  What 
is  this  but  a  glimpse  of  the  vision  of  the  Hebrew 
seer!  The  glory  and  the  honour  of  the  nations 
shall  be  brought  into  this  dreamed  of  City  of 
God.  What  is  the  glory  and  honour  of  Japan? 
Is  it  not  her  patriotism?  I  was  about  to  say  that 
Japan  is  the  most  patriotic  country  in  the  world. 
When  the  patriotism  of  Japan,  the  patriotism 
that  is  willing  to  give  all  and  sacrifice  all,  is  con- 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     177 

secrated  and  made  subservient  to  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  what  a  contribution  Japan  will  make  to 
our  Christian  experience  !    What  is  the  glory  and 
honour  of  China?     Is  it  not  China's  fiHal  piety, 
her  reverence  for  the  past,  her  conservation  of 
history,   her  love   for   the   ancestors   who  have 
passed  out  of  life?     And  when   the   glory  and 
honour  of  China  are  brought  into  the  City  of  God 
consecrated  and  made  contributory,  not  to  idola- 
trous customs,  but  to  the  enlargement  of  life, 
what  a  new  consecration  our  home  and  family 
life  will  take  on  wherever  the  name  of  Father- 
hood is  named !     What  is  the  glory  and  honour 
of  India?    Is  it  not  the  passion  for  God?     India 
from   one  point  of  view  is   the   most  religious 
country  in  the  world.     Years  ago,  crossing  the 
continent,  I  met  a  widely  travelled  journalist  as 
he  was  returning  from  India,  and  in  conversa- 
tion he  spoke  of  the  contrast  between  the  ma- 
terialism of  America  and  the  religious  passion 
of  India.    There,  even  the  paupers  on  the  street 
worshipped,    and    here    we    were    falling   down 
before  things,  things,  always  things.    Perhaps  the 
contrast  is  too  acute,  for  India  is  still  dark  with 
superstition,  but  when   that  religious   tempera- 
ment, that  spiritual  passion  is  brought  into  the 
temple  of  the  true  God,  when  it  is  consecrated 
and  bows  before  the  Truth  Incarnate,  the  world 
will  receive  a  quickening  of  faith,  of  prayer,  of 
spiritual  vision  such  as  it  has  not  experienced 
since  the  days  when   Christ  walked  with  men. 
And  always  in  our  thinking  and  our  dreaming 
we  seem  to  hear  the  words  of  Jesus,   ''  Other 
sheep  I  have,  which  are  not  of  this  fold;  them 


178    The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

also  I  must  bring,  and  they  shall  hear  my  voice; 
and  they  shall  become  one  flock,  one  shepherd." 

II 

Consecration  of  Patriotism 

The  great  war  brings  us  face  to  face  with  the 
consecration  of  patriotism.  Patriotism  is  one  of 
the  noblest  of  human  passions.  It  is  the  sign  of 
life  and  moral  worth.  Sir  Walter  Scott  was 
right  when  he  said : 

"  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead, 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said 
This  is  my  own,  my  native  land !  " 

A  man  without  a  country  is  a  man  without  a 
God.  But  patriotism  is  not  enough.  What  a 
fine  Christian  heroine  is  revealed  in  the  person 
of  Edith  Cavell.  The  story  of  her  martyrdom 
brings  tears  to  the  eyes  of  strong  men.  To  her 
chaplain,  who  was  permitted  to  see  her  a  few 
hours  before  her  death,  she  said:  ''I  have  no 
fear  or  shrinking;  I  have  seen  death  so  often  that 
it  is  not  strange  or  fearful  to  me.  I  thank  God 
for  this  ten  weeks'  quiet  before  the  end.  Life 
has  always  been  hurried  and  full  of  diflficulty. 
This  time  of  rest  has  been  a  great  mercy.  They 
have  all  been  very  kind  to  me  here.  But  this  I 
would  say,  standing  as  I  do  in  view  of  God  and 
eternity,  I  realize  that  patriotism  is  not  enough. 
I  must  have  no  hatred  or  bitterness  toward  any 
one."  Let  us  in  these  days  when  patriotism  has 
taken  on  the  garments  of  religion,  remember  these 
prophetic  words,    "  patriotism   is   not   enough." 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     179 

Love  of  one's  own  will  not  suffice.  Love  knows 
no  boundaries  and  fixes  no  barriers  between  race 
and  race,  between  nation  and  nation.  Love  is 
like  the  light  that  is  shed  forth  on  every  land, 
like  the  rain  that  falls  on  both  the  evil  and  the 
good. 

I  suppose  no  one  loved  his  own  land  as  Jesus 
did.  I  would  like  some  day  to  preach  a  sermon 
upon  the  subject,  ''  Jesus  as  a  Patriot."  No  one 
of  us  ever  loved  a  city  as  Jesus  loved  Jeru- 
salem. But  patriotism  was  not  enough  for 
Jesus  and  it  is  not  enough  for  us.  "  The  love 
of  God  is  broader  than  the  measure  of  man's 
mind."  In  a  recent  letter  from  a  Christian 
bishop  in  Japan  to  an  English  bishop,  an  inter- 
esting sidelight  is  given  of  the  way  in  which 
the  Japanese  are  looking  on  at  this  great  war. 
They  are  greatly  struck  by  the  fact  that  Christian 
nations  can  still  be  patriotic  nations.  But  they 
are  mightily  impressed,  through  the  happenings 
of  the  war,  with  this  truth  that  civilization  and 
patriotism  cannot  save  a  nation.  They  see  both 
civilization  and  patriotism  outlawed  because  of 
studied  cruelty  and  unrighteous  practices.  They 
see  that  religion  must  have  its  place  in  a  nation's 
life  and  that  Christianity  can  consecrate  even 
patriotism,  transforming  it  into  love.  When 
men  and  women  learn  to  serve  the  Kingdom  of 
God  with  the  same  passionate  patriotism  with 
which  they  serve  their  land;  when  love  of  coun- 
try becomes  an  enthusiasm  for  righteousness, 
for  purity,  for  truth,  then  the  dream  of  the  City 
of  God,  where  wars  and  sorrows  have  no  place, 
will  be  realized. 


i8o    The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 


III 

Consecration  of  Wealth 

The  great  war  has  brought  us  face  to  face  with 
the  consecration  of  wealth.  The  accumulated 
wealth  of  the  centuries  is  being  poured  into  the 
making  of  war.  I  read  that  the  belligerent  na- 
tions are  pouring  out  their  gold  at  the  rate  of 
$100,000,000  every  day.  Yet  charity  halts  on 
palsied  feet  and  the  Kingdom  of  God  tarries  for 
lack  of  funds.  Our  Presbyterian  Church  has  set 
aside  her  entire  and  capable  force  of  the  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions  to  canvass  the  country  to 
obtain  an  additional  million  dollars,  to  put  a 
Woman's  Christian  College  in  Japan,  to  put  a 
Boys'  Christian  College  in  Persia,  to  evangelize 
the  great  metropolitan  cities  of  China,  to  put  a 
hospital  here  and  a  church  there,  to  open  up  the 
entire  northern  territory  of  Siam  to  the  message 
of  the  Gospel.  And  up  and  down  our  land  and 
into  our  great  cities  these  men  of  God  have  gone 
pleading,  praying,  waiting  for  the  million  dollars 
and  wondering  if  they  are  to  succeed  or  to  fail. 
And  what  is  a  million  dollars  where  there  is  pur- 
pose of  heart  and  the  enthusiasm  of  loyalty?  If 
the  purchase  price  of  ten  short  minutes  of  the 
world  war  could  be  turned  into  the  channels  of 
grace,  in  ten  minutes  the  much-needed  million 
would  be  ready  for  its  ministry  of  mercy  and 
holy  helpfulness.  God  pity  us  that  we  keep  back 
part  of  the  price!  What  is  it  that  has  come  over 
the  church  with  its  unprecedented  wealth  and 
world-wide  opportunity?     Is  it  imagination  we 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     i8i 

lack?  Is  it  our  inability  to  visualize  the  millions 
that  wander  out  into  the  darkness  of  eternity 
without  God?  Is  it  our  indifference  and  our  lack 
of  enthusiasm  which  will  let  us  sing: 

"  Hosannas  languish  on  our  tongues, 
And   our   devotion   dies "  ? 

When  the  church  is  in  earnest  about  the 
proclamation  of  peace,  with  the  same  earnestness 
and  enthusiasm  that  both  men  and  women  pos- 
sess for  war,  then  the  glory  and  the  honour  of 
the  nations  will  contribute  to  the  coming  of  the 
Kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  of  His  Christ. 

IV 

Consecration  of  Sacrifice 

The  great  war  has  brought  us  face  to  face  with 
the  consecration  of  sacrifice.  What  a  great  thing 
sacrifice  is !  It  ennobles  life  and  awakens  the 
world  to  dreams  of  immortality.  Interpret  it 
how  you  may,  the  fact  remains  that  without  the 
shedding  of  blood  there  is  no  remission,  and  ex- 
cept a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die, 
it  abideth  alone.  Explain  it  how  you  will,  the 
progress  of  the  world  moves  slowly  up  the  great 
world  altar  stairs  that  slope  through  darkness  up 
to  God.  Because  Moses  endured  the  wilderness 
rather  than  enjoy  the  indulgent  life  of  Egypt,  a 
new  day  of  freedom  broke  upon  the  world.  Be- 
cause Jeremiah  chose  rather  to  suffer  affliction 
than  to  betray  his  conscience,  righteousness 
received  a  resurrection.  Because  Socrates 
calmly  drank  of  the  hemlock,  his  name  and  his 


i82     The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

cause  are  immortal.  Dante  suffered  and  walked 
through  the  fire  purified  and  gave  us  the  ''  Divine 
Comedy."  Milton  sang  in  the  darkness  and  saw 
"  Paradise  Regained."  Bunyan  lingered  in  Bed- 
ford jail  but  sent  his  immortal  pilgrim  out  upon 
the  highway  to  the  Celestial  City.  Tennyson 
wept  for  Arthur  Hallam  and  then,  in  his  sorrow, 
sang  the  ''  In  Memoriam  "  which  has  moved  the 
hearts  of  millions.  Even  Shelley,  perplexed  with 
the  mystery  of  life,  understood  enough  of  it  to 
say : 

"Most  miserable  men  are  cradled  into  poetry  by  wrong; 
They  learn  in  suffering  what  they  teach  in  song." 

It  is  the  path  which  all  progress  takes.  Paul 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Rome,  but  his  blood  is  the 
seed  of  the  Christian  Church.  Savonarola  died 
for  Florence,  Knox  for  Scotland,  Luther  for  Ger- 
many, Livingstone  for  Africa,  Carey  for  India, 
Judson  for  Burma,  and  Abraham  Lincoln  for 
America. 

It  seems  as  if  all  history  was  saying,  "  God 
forbid  that  I  should  glory  save  in  the  cross."  I 
read  that  every  day  25,000  young  men,  the  flower 
of  the  nations,  are  killed,  wounded  or  taken 
prisoner  in  this  great  world  war.  The  voice  of 
sacrifice  is  never  silent.  The  stream  of  life  which 
never  seems  to  dry  up  at  the  fountain-head  is 
pouring  into  the  vortex  of  war.  There  is  no 
complaining,  no  misgiving,  no  reluctance.  They 
come  up  from  their  homes,  from  farm  and  from 
city  life,  with  a  song  upon  their  lips,  and  singing, 
they  go  forth  to  die.  It  is  the  greatest,  the  sad- 
dest, the  most  sublime  spectacle  of  history. 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     183 

But  what  shall  we  say  of  this  other  conflict 
that  is  calling  for  a  sacrifice  of  richer  blood  and 
nobler  name?  I  have  a  book  written  by  a  friend, 
and  there  upon  its  title  page  I  read  the  pathetic 
and  heroic  dedication,  ''  To  my  three  soldier  sons, 
Robert,  Ralph  and  Ronald."  It  is  a  marvellous 
and  priceless  contribution  to  a  great  cause.  But 
where  are  the  sons  who  will  fill  the  ranks  of  this 
other  army  that  goes  forth  to  fight  against  spir- 
itual wickedness  in  high  places?  The  other  day 
there  was  placed  in  the  Royal  Academy  a  picture 
by  a  master  artist.  It  was  called  *'  Homeless." 
It  is  a  picture  of  ravaged  Belgium,  a  picture  of 
little  children  tugging  at  their  mothers'  skirts, 
wandering  God  knows  where,  in  that  desolate 
land,  with  the  lurid  light  of  burning  homes  in 
the  background.  Young  men  came  and  looked 
and  their  hearts  burned  within  them  as  they  went 
forth  impelled  by  a  great  compulsion  to  undo 
the  wrong  and  rebuild  a  nation.  And  then  I 
think  of  another  picture  that  was  painted  for 
the  same  Royal  Academy  some  thirty-five  years 
ago.  It,  too,  is  called  "  Homeless."  It  is  a  pic- 
ture painted  by  a  young  man  with  a  great  pur- 
pose in  his  heart — a  picture  of  a  young  woman 
with  a  little  child  in  her  arms  wandering  on  in 
the  night,  with  the  sleet  and  the  snow  beating 
upon  her  face,  and  the  doors  shut  in  the  street. 
As  he  looked  upon  his  own  work  his  heart  took 
fire,  and  laying  down  his  brush  he  said:  *' God 
help  me  !  Why  don't  I  go  out  and  save  the  home- 
less rather  than  sit  here  painting  pictures  of 
them?  "  For  five  years  he  gave  himself  to  rescue 
work  in  a  great  city,  and  then  when  the  call  came 


184    The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

he  went  out  to  Africa  and  for  a  generation  Bishop 
Tucker  gave  his  Ufe  to  bring  the  homeless  of  that 
dark  continent  home  to  Christ.  Some  day  we 
shall  be  through  with  the  religious  challenge 
which  this  great  war  has  brought  to  us.  Some 
day — let  us  pray  it  may  be  soon — we  shall  hear 
again,  louder  than  before,  the  cry  of  the  homeless 
world  for  Christ.  Why  should  it  be  so  hard  when 
the  call  is  so  urgent  and  the  need  so  great,  to  get 
young  men  and  women  who  will  make  the  great 
heroic  sacrifice,  not  for  death,  but  for  life?  I 
think  of  a  young  man,  an  honour  graduate  of 
Johns  Hopkins  Medical  School,  who  answered 
the  call  to  China.  He  worked  earnestly  during 
the  great  plague  of  typhus  fever  in  Pekin,  and  in 
waiting  upon  a  Chinese  patient  contracted  the 
deadly  disease.  In  his  delirium  they  heard  him 
say:  "I  hear  them  calling;  I  must  go.  I  hear 
them  calling;  I  must  go."  That  call  is  in  our 
ears  today;  it  will  be  in  our  ears  tomorrow. 
What  is  to  be  our  answer? 

Emboldened  by  this  spirit  of  sacrifice  that  is 
upon  the  world,  of  lives  poured  out  in  the  devo- 
tion of  a  great  patriotism,  I  claim  you.  Not  your 
money,  nor  your  gold,  but  you  and  your  children. 
These  are  days  of  judgment,  days  when  God  is 
sifting  out  the  hearts  of  men.  We  will  not  be 
behind  any  one  in  raising  the  flag  and  singing, 
"  My  country,  'tis  of  thee,"  but  why  can  we  not 
lift  the  other  standard,  the  standard  of  the  cross 
and  sing: 

"  The  Son  of  God  goes  forth  to  war, 
A  kingly  crown  to  gain. 
His  blood-red  banner  streams  afar; 
Who  follows  in  His  train  ? " 


The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God     185 

Why  should  nations  have  millions  for  that  con- 
flict and  only  hundreds  for  this?  I  claim  you, 
your  sons  and  your  daughters.  Why  should  we. 
hide  behind  the  sons  and  daughters  of  other 
fathers  and  mothers,  and  bid  young  men  and 
women  of  other  homes  go  forward  to  the  far- 
flung  line  of  the  Lord's  battle?  Is  it  because  we 
lack  imagination?  Is  it  because  we  are  blind  to 
the  need?  I  cannot  release  you  from  the  obliga- 
tion. I  cannot  permit  you  to  buy  yourself  off, 
nor  to  redeem  your  life,  or  the  lives  of  your  loved 
ones,  with  gold.  The  old  king  of  Serbia,  when 
his  land  was  threatened,  went  forth  among  his 
soldiers  and,  calling  the  men  to  attention,  said: 
"  Heroes,  you  have  taken  two  oaths,  one  to  me, 
your  king,  and  the  other  to  your  country.  I  am 
an  old,  broken  man,  on  the  edge  of  the  grave,  and 
I  release  you  from  your  oath  to  me.  From  your 
other  oath  no  one  can  release  you.  If  you  feel 
that  you  cannot  go  on,  go  to  )^our  homes,  and  I 
pledge  my  word  that,  after  the  war,  if  we  come 
out  of  it,  nothing  shall  happen  to  you.  But  I  and 
my  sons  stay  here."  From  neither  vow  can  I 
release  you.  I  cannot  bid  you  cease  from  sing- 
ing, ''  My  country,  'tis  of  thee"  Neither  can 
I  release  you  from  singing,  "  Onward,  Christian 
Soldiers."  I  challenge  you  and  the  Church  of 
Christ  to  bring  the  same  love,  the  same  devotion, 
the  same  spirit  of  patriotism,  the  same  priceless 
sacrifice  into  the  world  conflict  to  make  Christ 
the  Lord  the  King. 

I  plead  for  the  realization  of  the  dream  when 
the  glory  and  the  honour  of  America  shall  be 
brought  into  the  City  of  God.     Is  it  a  dream? 


1 86    The  Great  War  and  Kingdom  of  God 

Yes,  it  is  still  a  dream,  but  it  is  yours  and  mine 
in  this  great  day,  and  in  this  unreturning  age 
of  opportunity  to  make  the  dream  a  reality. 

**  O  beautiful  for  patriot  dream 
That  sees  beyond  the  years 
Thine  alabaster  cities  gleam 
Undimmed  by  human  tears ! 

America !     America ! 
God  shed  His  grace  on  thee 
And  crown  thy  good  with  brotherhood 
From  sea  to  shining  sea !  " 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


Date  Due 


m-t 


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